Somebody Told Me
by Hatsu Yukiya
Summary: All Kiku Honda ever wanted was to get into Hetalia W. Academy. But when the school doesn't have any more room for girls, Kiku is left with no choice. Disguising herself as a man should be easy, right? What could possibly go wrong? Ameripan. Co-written with KokoLolo.
1. A Decision and a Haircut

Kiku Honda stirred awake and blinked in the early morning light filtering in through her shaded windows. She glanced around groggily, disoriented, before sitting up and realizing someone was knocking on her front door. Kiku ran a hand through her long, disheveled black hair and, shuddering when her feet touched the cold floor, stumbled across her small apartment and jerked the door open.

"Hello, Kiku-chan!" It was the landlady of her building, Mai Sato, who came unusually early. The woman waved a large white envelope in Kiku's face. "Look what came in the mail today!"

"Er, hello Sato-san, I—"

"It has your name on it! It also has a fancy stamp!" Mai had quite a lot of energy for a thirty year old woman. Kiku swore that the landlady drank gallons of coffee every morning.

"Um, thank you…" Kiku said, eyeing the large envelope curiously. "But what is it?"

"Silly, it's the response letter from the school! It came in today!" The landlady's smile widened. "I didn't open it. I figured you would want to look at it yourself, Kiku-chan."

Kiku's parents had died in an accident three years ago, leaving a thirteen-year-old daughter on her own. The Hondas didn't have any relatives that Kiku could go live with, so her lawyer had worked it out and allowed her to live in Mai Sato's apartment building on her own with provided income drawn from her inheritance and her family's private funds. Mai was willingly named as a guardian almost immediately, much to Kiku's surprise. The woman's response to this was, "As a mother, I can't just watch a little girl live on her own with no support. You need help and I'll give it to you."

Kiku disagreed with the little girl statement, but since then Mai had been the closest thing to a parent she had. Now sixteen, she had gotten a part time job to attempt to support herself, but legal matters went to Mai.

A few weeks prior, Kiku had finally worked up the nerve to finally do what had been her ambition for several years: apply to the largest and most highly recommended school in the world, Hetalia World Academy. The school covered grades one through twelve, as well as detached university levels. For the most part, only the most rich and powerful families of the world could afford to send their children there. In fact, they wouldn't accept any other school as capable of educating their children. Hetalia W. Academy was massive, with a huge multicultural population and dorms for every last student.

Kiku had studied immensely hard in order to get grades high enough to attend on a scholarship, as she certainly couldn't afford to send herself. She asked Mai to send the prerequisite letter from a parent or guardian with her transcript to find out whether she would be accepted, the response to which was sitting in a heavy envelope in her hands.

Mai and her charge had been worried that they wouldn't allow her to attend because Mai wasn't Kiku's parent. But she was Kiku's guardian, so they prayed that would be enough. In any case, surprised at the older woman's thoughtfulness, Kiku smiled and said, "Thank you, Sato-san. I will be sure to inform you of the results."

"Oh, uh, I thought you would open it…now." Mai let out a nervous laugh, averting eye contact.

Kiku stared at the woman, wearing a tired expression. Finally she asked, "Doesn't your son have school?"

The landlady's smile twitched at this. "Yes, yes he does." She turned around to hurry to her car where her child was waiting. "Let me know the results, Kiku-chan!"

Kiku waved silently and turned back inside, sitting down at her low table. She took a deep breath. This was it. She and Mai had been waiting for this for weeks; Kiku even asked Mai daily if anything had come in for her. As much as she regretted sending the woman away, Kiku felt like this moment would mean more if she were alone. Sliding her finger underneath the flap, she unsealed the envelope and pulled out the official-looking letter printed on heavy paper and smoothed it out.

_To whom it may concern,_

_Thank you for applying for writing Hetalia World Academy! We have reviewed your child's transcripts and are pleased to inform you that he or she has been accepted with an honors scholarship. A form for personal information has been sent along with this letter for you to fill out; along with a list of supplies they may need for the coming school year. _

_PLEASE NOTE: Due to the overwhelming number of female students scheduled to attend Hetalia W. Academy this year, the girl dorms are filling up with startling haste. If your child is a female hoping to attend, there is a high possibility that she may have to wait until next school year to attend. We apologize greatly for the inconvenience and hope to see your daughter next term._

_Hetalia W. Academy will personally fund any travel expenses needed to transport your child to the school as conveniently as possible. Uniforms will be distributed upon arrival. Please select the proper size on the information form provided and mail it back to the return address as soon as possible._

_We look forward to educating your child in the coming school year._

_Best regards,_

_Hetalia World Academy Staff _

"What?" Kiku whispered, eyes scanning through the letter again. She must be tired! Yes, that must be it! To Kiku's dismay, the letter wasn't changing.

"How can they not have any space for girls? This is…this is…" She let out a weary sigh. This was not part of the plan. She was supposed to get in… How could the largest boarding school in the world not have room for female applicants? What as she supposed to do about this? She couldn't wait until next year, or she would die from anticipation and disappointment. Not to mention this town was driving her crazy. It brought back too many memories of when Kiku's parents were alive.

She slumped down on the table, her head in her arms. "What do I do…?"

Kiku wanted to be a psychiatrist. After going to one after her parents' deaths, she had grown to highly respect the profession and wished to join it. The largest school in the world would be the perfect place to study, not to mention all the job openings that would be available once she graduated university. Now, that wouldn't be possible, unless Kiku wanted to wait a whole other year in the place haunting her with memories of a happier life. Suddenly, she felt very alone.

She lifted her head, tears trickling down her cheeks, when she heard the home phone ringing. Slowly standing up, Kiku made her way across the room to answer.

"Kiku-chan! Did you get in? I bet you did!" the landlady's voice chirped over the phone.

"They didn't have enough room for girls," Kiku mumbled into the phone, disappointment in her tone. Her statement was followed by a shocked silence.

"How is that possible?" Mai asked disbelievingly. "That school's the biggest in the world, right?"

"Yes," the teenager replied softly, her voice cracking on the one syllable.

Mai let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Kiku-chan. I know how much you were looking forward to this. You'll have to try again next year." She laughed a little. "It's too bad you aren't a boy, huh?"

Kiku lifted her head and stared ahead. "I'm sorry, Sato-san, but…what?"

"Hm? I said it's too bad you aren't a boy."

"Yes…" Kiku breathed, the gears in her head turning. "Um, Sato-san, I have some things I need to do. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Not bothering to wait for an answer, Kiku hung up the phone and began pacing around her apartment, muttering_. Too bad I'm not a boy? I'm not a boy…but why can't I be? I could go school if I was… _She stopped abruptly in her tracks and mentally slapped herself. This was a ridiculous, crazy idea. If she were caught….

_But I wouldn't be. I'd be careful. I've cosplayed before, I know how to pass myself off as male. It would be difficult, maybe, with a roommate, but I'm sure I could pull it off in the end._

And what then? The logical voice in her head asked. What are you going to do about next year, and college? Are you going to live through your entire education as a boy?

_I wouldn't have a choice_, Kiku argued. _If I'm going to commit to this…_

She hurried back to the table and pulled the sheet of personal information out of the envelope, scanning it. Kiku smiled; the people at the school didn't know yet she was a girl, the first letter proved it. If they knew, they would have referred to her as such. Kiku snatched up a pen, but hesitated. What was this going to take? Buying new clothes, that was a given. Expensive, but it would have to be done. And…she pulled at a lock of her near waist length hair. Cutting it…well, that would certainly be a requirement. Not to mention, all the people she would be deceiving. Kiku was naturally a very honest person, and the thought of telling so many lies made her feel sick.

Then she remembered her parents, and them saying how they knew she was destined for great things. How she was the type to do whatever necessary. Because she was smart, and strong. That was what it took for Kiku to clench her teeth and curl her fists around the pen, glaring down at the information form with hard determination.

_I'm going to do it. I'm going to achieve my goal._

She filled out her name, Kiku Honda. Although admittedly it was a feminine name, she had med boys with the same name and figured it could work as unisex. Odds are nobody would know the difference anyway, and it was easier than coming up with a whole new alias. Then she filled out her age, sixteen. She skipped over the gender box, coming up with a plan for later. Kiku finished filling out the form without incident, then picked up the phone again and dialed Mai's number. Her guardian picked up on the second ring.

"Kiku-chan? Is that you?

"Yes, Sato-san, it's me."

"Are you alright? You hung up so suddenly…"

"I'm alright. I'm better, in fact." Kiku's stomach clenched and she crossed her fingers for the first lie she was about to tell. "I…called the school. They said they would be able to work a room out for me, and that I may go this year rather than next."

Mai drew in an excited gasp. "Really? _Really?_ Oh, that's fantastic, Kiku-chan! Congratulations!"

"Yes," Kiku whispered. "Yes, it is fantastic, as you said."

"You don't sound very excited. Are you sure everything's fine?" Mai's voice dropped in concern.

Kiku gripped the phone tightly. "I need you to come up and sign the personal information form, but nothing's wrong. That's all I need."

"Is that it? No problem, I'll be right up." With that, the landlady hung up the phone with a final click, leaving Kiku to let out the breath she had been holding. Within a few minutes, Mai was pounding on her door for the second time that day.

"Do I sign in English?" she asked, squinting at the small print. "English is difficult."

"I think they would prefer English," Kiku answered, standing over her. "Otherwise they might not think it was really you who signed it."

Mai's eyebrows furrowed. "I see. I'll do my best." Eventually, she was able to sign her name, not noticing the empty gender box at all. Mai left Kiku with a cheery "Be sure to send that off immediately! This is great!"

Alone again, Kiku took a deep breath, checked "Male," put it into a new envelope, and stuck it in the mailbox. There was no going back now.

**xXx**

Over the next month, Kiku slowly drew money out of her savings to buy appropriate apparel for her change into a boy. She took great care to hide them from Mai, keeping all the outfits in their bags to be shoved under her bed. She always got strange looks when she was shopping, and needed to keep reminding herself why she was in the men's underwear section whenever she went out. Kiku also made sure to buy bandages, for binding. Regrettably (or maybe not, considering the situation) she wasn't the…largest, shall we say, so the bandages were more of a precaution than anything. She didn't want to take chances with just a sports bra, anyone could see those.

Hetalia W. Academy had kept its word and mailed her the plane ticket she needed in order to travel to the school. Kiku was relieved that she didn't have to pay herself; it would have depleted her funds considerably. Mai had assured her that while Kiku was at school she would continue to clean and maintain her apartment for her.

The day before she was to leave, Kiku sat in her bathroom, holding a pair of kitchen scissors. There was one last thing she needed to do, that she had been putting off for the past four weeks. Her hair hung loose, falling down her back and over her shoulders, a glistening black curtain that unfortunately made looking like a boy rather impossible. Kiku loved her hair, and now that she was faced with the task of cutting it off, it almost made her want to back out of the whole thing.

_This is stupid_, she scolded herself. _You're going to diminish your chances of obtaining the future you want because you are afraid to cut your hair?_

Her grip on the scissors tightened. She squeezed her eyes shut, grabbed a handful of hair near the front, and severed it with a single cut.

Kiku cracked an eye open, and then gaped at what she saw. It was _short_, a straight lock ending around her cheekbone. She swallowed, then cut the other side to make it match before moving to the back. The back was certainly the most difficult, but Kiku managed to trim it evenly. Enough to satisfy herself, at least. When she was through, she stepped back to examine her handiwork.

She stared, eyes wide, at her reflection in the mirror. She did look like a boy. Her bangs were rather long, and she was certain the back was uneven just a little, and Kiku didn't even recognize herself. The rest of her hair lay in dark mounds at her feet.

_Well,_ she thought. _I really am committed now. No chickening out._ Releasing a deep breath, Kiku slid down onto her knees and began gathering the fallen locks of hair, throwing them in the waste bin as she went.

When Mai saw her, she screamed.

**xXx**

The next day, Kiku needed to wake up at an ungodly hour of the morning to catch her flight. Mai (after she got over her hysteria at seeing Kiku's haircut) offered to drive her, but Kiku refused, preferring to catch a taxi. She didn't want Mai to see any of the clothes she had packed and catch on to her plan.

They said goodbye the night before, Mai leaving with tears in her eyes. Kiku admittedly had a lump in her throat as well, but years of skillfully hiding her emotion refused to let her show it now. In the morning, stifling multiple yawns, she lugged her suitcase out the door and into the waiting taxi. It was a long drive to the airport, and Kiku nodded off a few times before they arrived. She slept the whole, long flight, waking up only as the wheels touched the tarmac.

After picking up her luggage, she realized she had to use the restroom. This left her with a dilemma. She was officially dressed and masquerading as a boy now, so she should use the men's room, right? Kiku's face turned bright red at the thought. The answer was yes, of course. She held her breath, dashed into the bathroom and grabbed a private stall, slamming the door behind her. The place was thankfully empty.

Kiku emerged with her face a dark crimson, never wanting to repeat the experience again but knowing she would have to, and with other males around at that. Oh man, she hadn't even thought of that. Deciding to banish the thought from her mind for now, and instead focus on finding the taxi the school sent out. This was a very large airport, and naturally she had never been in it, but Kiku gratefully noticed that signs were on the walls stating where the pickup areas were.

A man stood next to a car in a long line of yellow taxis, holding a sign with her name on it. She walked up to him and introduced herself, taking care to lower her voice. Kiku couldn't speak too loudly, because it was difficult to keep a low pitch otherwise. She had never been an outspoken one to begin with, so at least she had that in her favor. Not to mention that most people in her experience seemed to overlook quiet ones.

As she was chauffeured to the school campus, Kiku adjusted her binding and made sure it was secure before she was dropped off. Stepping out of the car, the driver handed her her suitcase and directed her to the administration building to check in. "It's my job," he said, responding to her inquiring look. "I get hired at the beginning and end of every year to shuttle you kids to the airport and back."

"Thank you," Kiku said quietly, proud that she sounded male. "I appreciate it."

He nodded, said "Have a good term, sir," then got back into his cab and head the way they had come. Kiku straightened her back and turned to face the campus.

"Alright," she said to herself. "It's time to begin."

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: NEW STORY! And I'm actually gonna follow through on this one instead of never updating and eventually deleting it because THIS one is a collab with the fabulous KokoLolo! Yeah. Our second one. **

**Lolo: We like busying ourselves….XD but yes, this is our second collab! And it is Ameripan!**

**Hatsu: Not to mention with fem!Japan! I ship Ameripan so hard. The ending for chapter 1 is rushed because I was up until one AM finishing it and I got tired. **

**Lolo: I haven't even read the ending! :D**

**Hatsu: Oh, and if anyone's worried, this story isn't going to interfere with our updating schedule for Kidnapped! And if you've come from Lolo's profile, or if you've been reading Kidnapped, then hello and we love you! :D**

**Lolo: Indeed! Chapter 2 will be up soon!**

**Hatsu: Woo! God I'm so excited about this. I hope this was good and enjoyable. Thank you for reading and please review!**

**Lolo: Bye!**


	2. Enter Alfred F Jones!

Alfred F. Jones considered himself far too heroic to stand in a line, but that's exactly what he found himself doing. Standing next to his British acquaintance, Arthur Kirkland, Alfred made sure to complain loudly about the situation.

"The hero can't wait in a stupid line!"

Arthur's left eyebrow twitched in irritation, trying to tolerate the American. He crossed his arms, tapping his foot and ignored Alfred.  
Alfred groaned, "We're at the back! I should just cut!"

"You can't cut, you bloody idiot," Arthur said, exasperated. "Really, your ego is infuriatingly large this year, and school hasn't even started."

"Aw, c'mon Artie," Alfred laughed, slinging an arm over the Brit's shoulder. "Don't act like this, it's the first time we've seen each other in like, months."

"I would have kept enjoying the isolation and lack of irritating Americans had school not been mandatory," Arthur growled.

"Well, jeez," Alfred put on a hurt expression. He pounded his chest, dramatically, "That hurts me right here!"

"...Right."

"So do you know you're rooming with this year?"

Arthur gritted his teeth together, "That frog, Francis!"

Alfred bit his lip to hold back laughter.

"Again, dude?"

"Every year!" Arthur fumed. "I'm sick of the damn frog! What possesses these wankers to pair me with him each term."

Alfred snickered. "Maybe it's because he hates you too much to try his ritual molestation like he does with everyone else and nobody wants to bunk with you because of your constant bitching."

Arthur's mouth fell open and he spluttered for a few minutes becoming up with a retaliation. "Well what about you? Every roommate you've ever had has switched out in less than a month."

They just can't handle my heroicness!" Alfred snapped, sticking his tongue out at the man.

"Keep telling yourself that," Arthur rolled his eyes at the American before sighing, "If this line doesn't move any faster..." he trailed off.

"Yeah..." Alfred craned his neck to see how much further until the front. His face brightened, "My roommate is this new dude named Kiku Honda. I think he's Japanese or something."

"I'll give him two weeks..."

"I bet he'll stay."

**xXx**

Kiku turned her head slightly, thinking she had heard her name. It was difficult to tell, however, as the noise from the crowd behind her drowned out even her own thoughts. Kiku sighed and faced forward. She was two people from the front, but the line was moving infuriatingly slowly. Eventually she made it to the front of the line, and introduced herself at the desk.

"Oh, Kiku Honda?" the secretary asked, shuffling some papers. "You're the scholarship student, right?"

"Yes ma'am," Kiku answered, confused. "Excuse me, THE scholarship student? Are there not any others?"

"Hardly," the secretary chuckled, handing Kiku a folder. "You should know better than anyone what kind of standards this school has."

"I see..."

"That's your room assignment. Your roommate is Alfred Jones."

The students nearest Kiku ceased their chatter and stared in abject horror, many with pity in their eyes. Kiku looked around in confusion while the secretary seemed to not notice.

"Here's your uniform, if you need a spare just come down here."

"Thank you," Kiku replied, and turned to leave.

_What was that about?_ Kiku thought with a frown as she wandered down the hallways to head to her room. Her eyes widened as her imagination went wild. What if this Alfred man was a bully? Or a pervert? The last thing she needed now was someone peeking in while she changed!  
At that last thought, her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

Kiku flipped open the fancy, royal blue folder to check what room number she will be in.  
Room 50.

Aaand she had no idea where that was.

Kiku groaned a bit to herself and looked around. This place was massive! Her school back in Japan was two stories, and definitely did not have separate dorm buildings. _Though if it did..._Kiku sucked in a breath through her teeth, _they would probably have enough room for any girl who wanted to apply.  
_  
She banished the thought. No point in regretting it now; it was a little late for that. Instead, she had better focus on finding where she was supposed to go. Kiku looked down the hall, noticed someone walking away from her, and jogged to catch up.

"Excuse me," Kiku tapped the student on the shoulder. The student jumped in surprise, letting out a light cry in the process as he dropped his books and the white polar bear (What? Kiku thought) he was holding. Kiku immediately felt horrible for scaring the timid boy.

"I am so sorry!" Kiku gave a quick bow before scrambling to get the student up to his feet. Once the two were standing (and the white bear was in the boy's arms), the student replied, "It's alright, I guess. I'm used to it."

"Used to it?" Kiku repeated, taken aback by this.

"Usually people don't notice me and I get knocked down, a bit too often." he let out a shaky laugh. He adjusted his glasses and stated, "You must be new here. I'm, uh, Matthew Williams."

"Kiku Honda," Kiku gave him a small smile. She then remembered why she came to him in the first place, "Oh! Do you know where the dorms are?"

"Y-yeah," Matthew pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "If you go out the door at the end of this hall, there's a sidewalk leading to the guy dorms. The door leading to the girl's path is in the hall behind us."

"I see," Kiku nodded. "Are you going there as well?"

Matthew shook his head. "Eventually, but I have some things to do for the office first."

"The office?"

"I'm kind of an assistant," the blond explained. "I run errands for the secretaries during free periods and...things..." He trailed off, looking embarrassed.

"Oh..." Kiku didn't want to press any further on the topic.

"Out of curiosity, who are you rooming with?" Matthew asked, adjusting the polar bear in his arms.

"Alfred Jones," Kiku read off of the folder, then looked up to see the Canadian staring at her with widened eyes, "I-is something the matter?"

"O-oh, no, nothing's the matter..." Matthew stammered. "U-um, well, he's kind of my cousin..."

"Ah," Kiku replied. "Can you tell me anything about him?"

Matthew swallowed and glanced around nervously. "All I can say is, buy a lot of aspirin. You'll need it." With that, he spun on his heel and nearly ran down the hall.

_...Is he alright?_ Kiku thought to herself. _Mentioning Alfred seemed to really bother him._

She made a mental note to pick up aspirin at the school store after she settled in. Kiku's footsteps echoed throughout the campus as she walked to the men's dorms. She could honestly say that she never thought she'd be impersonating a boy for her final years of high school, but what can she do about it? This was her only choice.

Kiku had finally reached the outside of the large building. Lucky for her, room 50 was on the second floor; not too difficult considering the dorm building had six floors. Kiku made her way there, and stood outside the door wondering if the infamous (it seemed) headache-inducing Alfred F. Jones was already inside. Well, there was only one way to find out. She put her hand on the knob and pushed the door open.

She cautiously stepped inside, eyes scanning the room for a body of some sort. Kiku let out a sigh of relief when nobody was there. The dorm was a decent size for two people to live in. There were two beds, two dressers to store clothes in, a closet even. She set her bag on one of the beds and hurried to one of the two windows in the room. It was a stuffy room and it needed some fresh air.

Once the window was open, Kiku took yet another glance around the room, now noticing the many posters surrounding a bed that was pushed up against the wall. They were all images of multiple super heroes, as well as some villains. The shelves above the bed were crammed full of comic books and action figures, and Kiku noticed the bed itself had Superman sheets on it. A Spiderman-stickered laptop lay on the desk next to the window.

Clothes were already littering the floor on her roommate's side, as though the owner had begun unpacking and given up halfway through. Kiku's side of the room was pristine; Alfred hadn't touched it. It would still be pretty bland even after Kiku unpacked, as she hadn't brought any manga or memorabilia to decorate with. Maybe she could get out on a free day to go buy some.

She approached her suitcase and snapped it open. Kiku stared at the one piece of feminine apparel she brought, a necklace. The one her mother had given her before she had passed away. She lifted it up and smiled, remembering the past. Loud footsteps were heard from down the hallways along with laughter. Kiku frantically stuffed the necklace at the bottom of the suitcase and occupied herself with her clothes.

The door suddenly flew open with a loud bang, slamming against the wall. Kiku froze and stared at the newcomer, who did the same to her. He was tall and strong-looking, with sandy hair that stuck up a bit and blue eyes behind wire rimmed glasses. After a moment, he hurriedly shut the door, locked it, and rushed up to Kiku.

"Don't say a word!" he hissed, slapping a hand over her mouth. Too terrified to protest, Kiku obliged and after a moment, a distinctly British voice could be heard yelling, "Dammit Jones, where did you go? I swear I'm going to kill you!"

Footsteps pounded past the door and receded down the hall. Kiku was released and they both let out a heavy sigh.

"...Who was that?" Kiku asked, keeping her voice quiet in case the Brit were to come back.

"That's just Arthur," the strange boy replied with a light laugh, "he gets pissed really easily so..."

"I see," Kiku nervously said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, obviously feeling awkward.

"By the way!" the boy grinned, sticking a hand out, "Name's Alfred F. Jones, but you can just call me the Hero!"

"Okay." Kiku stared at him, confused now.

"Or you can call me Alfred, whatever floats your boat!" his smile grew bigger before deflating, "Uh... so are you the Kiku dude?"

Kiku blinked and almost corrected him before remembering that she was a man in everyone's eyes, "N... yes."

"Great!" Alfred slapped her on the back as a friendly gesture. Truthfully, it flat out hurt. Kiku bit her lip to keep from letting out a whimper.

"N-nice to meet you," Kiku said softly, averting her eyes. So she was supposed to live with him for the next nine months?

"I'm really glad you're all, like, mellow and in my grade because last year I was paired up with this whiny Italian freshman who was obsessed with spaghetti," Alfred chattered. "I didn't even say anything bad to him and he started crying two weeks in and ran to his boyfriend, Ludwig. And Ludwig's this massive German guy who has a stick up his ass or something." Alfred groaned dramatically.

_He talks a lot..._Kiku thought, tuning the American out as she unpacked. She felt something poke her shoulder and she dully glanced over at her new roommate who was wearing a pouting face, "Yes?"

"You weren't listening to me!" Alfred whined, crossing his arms as he turned away from her, "I can give you all kinds of tips on surviving this place and you're just ignoring me!"

"...Survive?" Kiku repeated, doubting this. The illogical part of her though, was beginning to take over. _How many people have died here?_ As these thoughts swirled through her mind, her face was turning snow-white.

However, in true Japanese fashion, she refused to show Alfred her uncertainty and instead said calmly, "I imagine I'll be able to figure certain things out myself, Alfred-san."

Alfred stopped cold. "Wait, what?"

"I said-"

"No, what did you just call me?" The American seemed genuinely confused, and Kiku supposed she couldn't blame him. She wasn't in Japan anymore, after all.

"I apologize," she said, bowing a little. "'San' is an honorific in the Japanese language. You could say it is synonymous to 'Mr.' in English."

"I didn't understand a word you just said," Alfred responded cheerily, flopping onto his bed.

"Of course," Kiku breathed, as she folded the last piece of clothing. As soon as she did, she slammed the suitcase shut so that Alfred wouldn't see the necklace.

"So, whaddya do for fun in Japan?"

"Pardon?" Kiku looked over at him.

"Y'know, FUN!" America spread his arms out.

"...I work," Kiku said after a moment of silence.

Alfred's eyes widened. "You mean, like, a JOB?"

"Yes..."

He leaned back. "That's weird, dude. I've never had one of those. Heroes don't need to work!" Alfred burst into loud, irritating laughter.

_You mean the wealthy children don't have to work,_ Kiku thought. Out loud she asked, "What do you do, Alfred-san?"

"Glad you asked!" Alfred sat back up, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "Pranking, b-balling, dancing, running, skipping, oh video games are fun, too!"

"B...balling?" Kiku repeated the foreign word.

"Basketball... or baseball," Alfred shrugged.

"Oh."

"But it's tons of fun!" Alfred beamed at this, "Hey! You don't look like you've pulled a prank in your life!"

"_W-what?"_

"Yeah! Like a joke!"

Kiku shook her head. "It would be against my morals to do such a thing.

Alfred stuck out his lower lip. "Aw c'mon dude! I was hoping for a roommate who would do things like shave Arthur's eyebrows with me!"

Kiku stared. "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"Whatever," Alfred's mood changed from cheery to grumpy.

The last thing she needed was a pissed roommate. Kiku added, "I play video games, though..."

He glanced up at her. "Like what?"

"Um..." Kiku searched her memory. She had played so many. "Mostly role-playing, but I've also played things like Halo and Call of Duty. My favorites are horror games."

Alfred sat straight up and turned white as a sheet. "You play horror games? Like what?"

Curious about his sudden change in behavior, Kiku answered "Such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent and American McGee's Alice."

Alfred looked relieved. "Well if it's made by a guy named American, it can't be too bad."

Kiku disagreed. She herself had lost sleep over that game.

"I brought all my game platforms over so we should play sometime!" her roommate continued. Then, suddenly, "Hey dude, you hungry?"

"Hm?" Kiku thought about it, and realized she was ravenous. It had been a long day. "Yes, I am."

Alfred jumped off the bed. "Great! C'mon dude, let's go eat!" Breaking out his annoying laugh again, he ran out the door pulling a stammering Kiku behind him.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: Hehe...she's met Alfred "Fuck Yeah!" Jones now~ Lolo was busy so you just get me for the AN today. Ah, well. These things aren't nearly as entertaining when she's not around, huh? Anyway, we love this story so much. At least, I do. We're going to update as often as possible but we don't have a set schedule. We hope you follow us as we write this :D**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	3. Asian Invasion

Kiku stood in the midst of a large crowd in the cafeteria, Alfred nowhere in sight. He had disappeared after seeing someone named Matthias and the rest of his cronies. Naturally, Kiku can figure this out herself, but it's not entirely fun to be abandoned by your guide.

"Excuse me, aru..." Kiku turned around to see a man, not much older than her, standing behind her. His facial expression twisted into confusion when he saw her, his previous question forgotten.

"Yes?" Kiku hesitated, biting her lip.

"Um...never mind, aru!" the boy said, replacing his confused look with a bright smile. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Yao, aru. Are you alone?"

Bewildered, Kiku took his hand and said "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kiku Honda." She glanced around the large room, looking for Alfred, who was nowhere in sight. "Yes, I'm alone."

Yao frowned sympatheticely. "I heard from an acquaintence of mine that Alfred Jones is your roommate. Is that true, aru?"

His pitiful look intensified when Kiku nodded. "Oh, I'm so sorry, aru. He abandonded you, didn't he?"

"Yes," Kiku confirmed, wondering why this stranger cared.

The Chinese boy suddenly brightened up considerably. "I can't find any of my friends, so do you wanna eat with me? We could go to a resteraunt, aru. There are nicer places than the cafeteria around here."

"We can leave campus?" Kiku asked, curious at this new piece of information. Yao waved a hand dismissively, gesturing for her to follow.

"Yes, we can. I bet Alfred brought you here so he didn't have to pay. He really is a cheapskate, aru."

Kiku cracked a small smile at this, "It doesn't seem he's worked a job in his life."

"The school's going to take care of that, aru," Yao replied, matter of factly, "although he'll just be whining and complaining while he's doing so which will get annoying..."

"What do you mean?" Kiku asked as they crossed the street.

"Hetalia W. Academy just added this service elective to have students do all the teachers' odd jobs and other things, aru" Yao explained to her, "it's meant to be a punishment for those who are troublemakers or they just plop people in if they run out of room for the other electives, aru..."

"Oh." Kiku had, by choice, signed up for service, liking the idea of helping out. Now she wasn't so sure.

"Ah, here we are!"

It was a Chinese resteraunt, and Kiku figured she should have seen this coming.

"My family owns this resteraunt chain," Yao explained, pulling her inside. "We make good food, I swear, aru!"

"I believe you," Kiku answered, secretly amused by his enthusiasm. Yao waved to the hostess and said something in Mandarin before leading the Japanese girl to a small table in the back.

Kiku took a seat next to Yao who was now gesturing with his right hand for a young teenage Asian girl to join them. She smiled, widely, and hurried over to their table , her waist-length black hair flowing behind her. Kiku noticed her one strand of hair that was sticking up and the pink flower that was tucked neatly.

"I thought I would find you here, teacher!" the girl chirped, her eyes then drifted to Kiku who politely smiled, "Who's your friend?"

_Teacher...?_ Kiku thought, baffled.

"This is Kiku, Mei," Yao grinned, before frowning, "Where's Hong?"

"He's coming!" Mei took a seat by Kiku.

"Um..." Kiku began. "I'm sorry, but why does she call you 'teacher'?" Mei grinned sheepishly at that. "Yao and Hong, his little brother, are my cousins. Ah, I don't do well in school sometimes so he tutors me."

"What grade are you in?"

"I just got out of middle school. Hong and I are in the same grade." Mei turned to Yao. "Hong's coming soon. He was paired up with Yong Soo, can you believe it?"

Yao's hand flew to his mouth to stifle his laughter, "Really, aru?"

"Yes!" Mai replied, smiling. She explained to Kiku, "Yong Soo is someone you always want be on the lookout for." Her smile faltered, "he has... some... er..."

"Quirks."The group jumped and looked up to see a teen around Mai's age wearing an irritated look.

Yao jumped up excitedly and pulled up another chair. "Kiku, this is Hong, aru! My brother!"

Hong rolled his eyes. "I just saw you this morning, why are you so excited?"

"Because I saw you this mooooorning," Yao drawled, then snickered. He gestured to Kiku. "This is Kiku Honda, the scholarship student! He's Japanese, aru!"

Kiku bowed a bit in her chair. "Nice to meet you."

Hong gave a small nod at the Japanese woman as he took a seat. "Yong Soo... I don't think I can handle him..."

"You do look tired," Yao commented, a look of concern crossing his features.

"What kind of quirks does he have...?" Kiku glanced down at her lap.

"Guard your assets," Mei giggled. It took a moment for Kiku to digest that statement, and turned a bright shade of red when she did.

"B-but...I'm..."

"He doesn't care if you're a boy," Hong said bluntly. "Yao's been assaulted more times than we can keep track of."

"Yong Soo's family is close to ours," Yao explained further. "They have a competing Korean resteraunt chain, but our families have been close friends for ages, aru. It's like friendly rivalry."

"Don't let Yong Soo himself near a kitchen though," Mei said darkly. "He might set your hair on fire."

Kiku's hand flew to her hair, a distant look in her eyes, "Oh..."

"So how do you like H.W. Academy so far?" Yao asked curiously, changing the subject.

Kiku lowered her hand and thought about it. "It's...very massive. Much bigger than what I'm used to."

"Well, I imagine everything's smaller in Japan," Hong quipped. Amused, Kiku smiled and nodded.

Yao laughed and checked his watch, letting out a yelp. "Hong, Mei, you have to get back to campus, aru! Middle schoolers and freshmen have a curfew, remember?"

Mei jumped up from her chair with a shriek, "Hong, we need to go!" Hong was already on his feet, beginning to walk out of the resteraunt. Mei grabbed Hong's wrist and with a quick wave, hurried out.

Yao's attention returned to Kiku who was picking at her food, "Please don't be offended, but..." Kiku glanced up from her food, alarmed, "I... noticed that..." Yao sighed, regretting even saying anything.

"What is it?" Kiku asked, concerned.

Yao sucked in a deep breath and leaned forward. "I'll just say it, aru, now that they're gone... Kiku, are you a girl?"

Kiku's chopstickes clattered onto her plate as she froze, staring at Yao in horror.

"I...I..." Kiku was at a loss for words. It would be unhonorable to lie, but she's already lied about her gender anyways, "...How could you tell?"

"It's really easy, aru," Yao shrugged, before wondering aloud, "why'd you do it?"

"You could just tell?" Kiku spluttered, dumbfounded. "How?"

Yao thought for a moment. "Well...partly, you're too pretty to be a boy." He flashed a quirky grin at that, making Kiku flush pink. "And your reactions when we talked about Yong Soo, aru."

The girl let out a heavy sigh. "I suppose I need to work on my mannerisms."

"I suppose so," Yao agreed casually. "But you didn't answer the second question, aru."

Kiku rubbed her eyes. "I needed to get into this school. I _had_ to. But the girl dorms were full, so..."

"So you did this, aru." Yao waved his hands at her.

"Yes."

_I'm going to be sent home before I even begin school!_ Kiku wiped her tear-filled eyes. To think she made it so far and...

"Don't worry, aru," Kiku looked up to see Yao grinning, "I'll keep your secret and..." he paused, thoughtfully, "I can teach you how to be a boy..."

"You?" Kiku asked, staring.

Yao looked offended. "Why are you looking at me like that, aru?"

Kiku put her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, really. But...may I ask why you want to help me?"

"Sure! I admire you."

"Huh?"

Yao spread his arms. "You're doing what you want, aru! You have the courage to do it, and you're not letting something like," he paused for a moment, thinking. "Like rooming with Alfred Jones stop you." He stood up now. Confused, Kiku stayed silent. "You see the resteraunt we're in, aru? My dream is to create a bigger chain than this one and kick my father's ass, aru!" Yao sat back down and put his chin in his hand. "I can't tell my father that, aru. I'm too afraid. But here you are, charging ahead to your goal, aru! It's awesome!"

Kiku blushed, averting eye contact, smiling shyly, "Thank you, Yao, and... your dream, it will happen. Just keep doing what you're doing now."

"Now," Yao helped her up from her chair, "We're going to my dorm to give you some lessons."

"Lessons?" Kiku repeated, mouth agape, "You were serious?"

Yao grinned, nodding, "Of course!"

"Don't we need to pay for our food?" Kiku asked, standing. Yao gave her a look, and she retracted the statement. They made their way back to campus, Yao calling out to people he knew along the way.

"What's your roommate like?" Kiku asked as they walked. Yao's smile froze for a moment.

"There is...no single word to describe my roommate, aru," he answered, nervously fiddling with his long ponytail. "He is a strange one, aru."

Yao lead her to the third floor of the dorms, pulling out his key from his pockets. He gestured for her to wait outside. He swiftly opened the doorvand slipped inside. After a moment, he pulled her inside the room.

"You're being... careful," Kiku remarked, confused on why Yao was acting this way.

"As I've said, aru," Yao turned to face her, "he's strange. Strange enough to possibly recognize that you are a girl."

"Ah, right," she took a seat on one of the two beds. She arched an eyebrow when she saw a skirt and pink tank top laid out on said bed, "Er... what are-"

"Don't ask!"

"Alright then..." Kiku sighed. "What do you want to tell me?"

Yao plopped down on his roommate's bed, pushing away the skirt with a grimace. "Well, like I said, I'm gonna teach you how to be a boy, aru. There are a lot of things you need to know."

"Such as?" The Chinese frowned and examined her. "Your posture, aru," he said.

"My posture?" Kiku blinked, confused.

"Your hands are folded neatly in your lap," Yao explained, a smile playing on his lips.

Kiku glanced down and to her surprise, they were. She quickly removed them and replied, "It's out of habit..."

"You're too polite, aru, that's why. There's nothing wrong with that, but you should watch it to make sure you don't do anything too feminine. Don't cross your ankles either, aru."

Kiku immediately corrected herself.

"Anything else?" she asked, now more aware of how she sat. She watched Yao as he sniffed her before wrinkling his nose.

"You smell like flowers,aru..."

"Oh..."

"I'll lend you some of my shampoo, though," Yao shrugged at this, "Just make sure you shower before your first day,aru"

"What next?" Kiku was ready to learn more ways of a man.

Yao opened his mouth to continue when the door opened loudly, reminding Kiku of her first encounter with Alfred. She and Yao both jumped up from the beds and faced the source of the noise. In the doorway stood a small blonde with sharp green eyes, the most noticable thing about him being the short skirt, long boots, and woman's top he was wearing. In a heavy European accent he commanded, "Out, now."

Kiku stared before whirling around, her face a dark red, while Yao crossed his arms. "Feliks, why do we have to leave, aru?"

Yao's roommate waved his arms. "You need to leave so I can change!"

"There's a bathroom!"

"I need _space_, Yao." Feliks rolled his eyes and stared at the two Asians critically.

"Alright, alright, aru." Yao stood and grabbed Kiku's arm, pulling her out of the room. She went very willingly and flinched when Feliks slammed the door behind him. Once they were out of earshot, Yao burst into laughter and doubled over, clutching his side."Um. Yeah. That's, uh, that's my roommate, aru."

"I'm not entirely sure what to think about him," Kiku stammered in reply. Her friend wiped his eyes and said, "I'll walk you back to your room, aru."

When they parted for the night, Kiku hesitated about opening her door. Was Alfred back? She imagined dealing with him was similar to Hong dealing with Yong Soo, and was uncertain she could do it. Swallowing her doubts, she shoved the door open and walked in on Alfred, fully clothed, passed out on his bed snoring like a lawn mower. She sighed, then got ready for bed herself, wondering if she'd have to be the one to pull her roommate out of bed in the morning.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: LE CHAPTER THREEEEEEEEEE. Hehe I bet you guys were gearing up for an unofficial Ameripan date and then Lolo and I went BAM and Asian Invaded your asses. WE DO WHAT WE WANT. Asian Invasion pwns all.**

**Lolo: XD But do we have a lot in store for the rest of this fanfic! 8) We felt that Kiku needed somebody to talk to about life and so from this chapter on, KIKU AND YAO ARE FRIENDSSSS**

**Hatsu: Yao is such a BAMF that he automatically knows that Kiku's a girl just from observation. It's probably because he's so feminine he's spent his whole life trying to be more masculine and now, he sees someone in a kind-of similar situation and wants to help out. BECAUSE HE IS MY BEAUTIFUL HUSBAND.**

**Lolo: ...RIGHT. Hey, hey, this fanfic is based off of a few things. We'll slowly name off what they're based off of as the fic progresses :3 First thing: Somebody Told Me by the Killers. Distantly though. XD**

**Hatsu: It's where the name came from, and the lyrics apply. The second thing is...a secret...for now.**

**Lolo: WE WILL TELL YOU SOON.**

**Hatsu: WHEN THE TRUE ROMANCE BEGINS**

**Lolo: *nudge nudge wink wink***

**Name index! Including everyone who has appeared thus far:**

**Kiku: Japan**

**Alfred: America**

**Arthur: England**

**Francis: France**

**Yao: China (one of my husbands, the others are four of the five Nordics)**

**Hong: Hong Kong**

**Mei: Taiwan**

**Yong Soo: Korea**

**Matthias: Denmark**

**Feliks: Poland**

**Hatsu: We borrowed the Asians' names from A.R.C. Fangirl OwOv, and her fic Asians vs. Europeans. Go read it, and BEG HER TO UPDATE IT BECAUSE SIRIUSLY. Thanks for letting us use your names, A.R.C! We'll get the others in later.**

**Lolo: And thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed and added this fic to their fav's or/and alerts! :D**

**Hatsu: Yes! Thank you for reading and please review!**


	4. First Day

Kiku rolled over and groaned, her hand fumbling around until it found her alarm clock and switched it off. She sat up in bed and glanced around the room blearily until her mind focused on the train wreck that was Alfred's snoring. In hindsight, Kiku had no idea how she managed to sleep through it. Her roommate talked in his sleep as well. Shouted, actually. It was a wonder the administration hadn't come banging on their door in the middle of the night with the amount of noise the American was making.

She stretched and got out of bed, rubbing her eyes. The ringing of the alarm clock did nothing to wake Alfred, and Kiku decided she would take advantage of the situation and use the shower. If Alfred wasn't awake, then it made binding and dressing afterwards much easier. She certainly didn't need him finding her out on the first day of school. Unlike Yao, Kiku doubted that Alfred would be able to keep her secret silent for very long, if at all. It was best to keep her distance from him. Dense as he may be, Alfred was her roommate and would be the one to see her most often outside of class.

Though she took the liberty of a long shower, Alfred still wasn't awake when Kiku got out. Just to be safe, she dressed in her uniform in the bathroom. She didn't want to take any chances. The Hetalia World Academy was fairly simple, but distinctive. A dark blue blazer and a matching tie around a white dress shirt, with lighter blue plaid pants. A cream sweater was typically underneath the blazer. There wasn't a summer uniform with short sleeves, and Kiku wasn't looking forward to the heat of the day with the layers the uniform provided. She recalled the girls' uniform, a red plaid jumper dress, and wished she could have been wearing that instead.

It was around seven-thirty when she finished getting ready, and Alfred still wasn't up. Class started at eight. Kiku had no idea if he was always late in the morning or just wasn't used to waking up early after summer vacation, but decided to do the nice thing and attempt to wake him up. She crouched next to his bed and poked him gently.

"Alfred-san, it is morning."

She didn't get any sort of response, not a noise. Kiku frowned slightly and raised her voice. "Alfred-san, you need to wake up. Class starts soon. Don't you want to eat?"

Alfred did groan at this, but Kiku couldn't have anticipated what would come next. The American wrapped his arms around the Japanese girl and pulled her close to him, like a teddy bear. He was still fast asleep. Kiku began to heat up, and she struggled against him. "A-Alfred-san, wake up! Please let me go!" He only mumbled in his sleep and pulled her tighter. Kiku was beginning to panic. If she couldn't wake him up on time, they would stay in this awkward position and both of them would be late on the very first day.

Uncomfortably hot and unable to free herself from Alfred's strong arms, Kiku tried a different method. She went still and dropped her weight, hoping to worm out from underneath. That plan was foiled when Alfred suddenly rolled over onto his back, pulling the girl with him. Kiku ended up not only cradled against his chest, but also on top of him, their faces nearly touching.

Kiku was about ready to shout in his face when the door to the room suddenly opened. She craned her neck to see who was there, already mortified about the situation. Fantastic, now somebody would get to spread this information around…Kiku would much rather stay in the shadows, not open to speculation about what she and Alfred got up to in their spare time.

The person at the door was a messy-haired blond with green eyes and an exasperated expression. The first thing he did was sigh heavily before walking over to the bed and leaning over.

"You tried to wake him up, didn't you?"

Kiku nodded wordlessly. The boy had a distinct British accent, and she figured this was probably the Arthur who was chasing Alfred the day before. He didn't seem so "pissy," as Alfred put it, at the moment. Kiku decided to take advantage of this to appeal for help. Keeping her voice low and void of emotion, she said, "Can you please make him let go?"

"Ah, yes. Give me a moment." Arthur moved forward, positioning himself very close to Alfred's ear before yelling, "GET UP, IT'S THE BLOODY MORNING!"

Alfred's blue eyes snapped open and he sat up immediately, releasing his grip on Kiku and sending her tumbling to the floor with a yelp. He looked around, disoriented, before flopping back onto his pillow silently.

Arthur swore while Kiku picked herself off the ground, straightening her blazer and attempting to comb her hair. "Is this a routine for you?" she asked the Brit as they stood staring at Alfred. He nodded.

"It's been kind of my duty to wake the moron up every morning, ever since he first started school here." Arthur rubbed his eyes. "Sodding idiot. I would rather get a head start in the morning instead of hauling his ass out of bed." He turned to Kiku and held out his hand. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, by the way. I'm a senior here. Are you in the same grade as him?" He gestured indifferently to Alfred.

Kiku nodded and took his hand. "I am. My name is Kiku Honda."

"Nice to meet you," Arthur responded politely. "Why don't you go ahead and leave? It's already seven forty-five, and it takes about ten minutes to get to the main classroom building."

She suppressed a sigh. Thanks to Alfred's stubbornness, she managed to miss breakfast. That would catch up later, surely. Kiku politely bowed slightly, to Arthur's confusion. "Thank you. It was nice meeting you." She grabbed her schoolbag and rushed out of the room.

Like Arthur said, it took her several minutes to reach the main part of campus. Kiku pulled out her schedule and scanned it over. She had math class first, in room 205. Looking at the classroom building, it was likely to be on the second or third floor. She made it through the door just as the bell rang and took a seat near the back. The teacher seemed to be late, so Kiku looked around the room and examined her classmates. There was certainly a wide variety of cultures, from what she could tell.

The person on her right was a tan boy with brown hair and green eyes. He caught her eye and grinned with a cheerful "Hola!" She nodded in response.

She quickly glanced away from the Spaniard and focused on the date that was written on the board up front. Not necessary, but it busied her. Kiku's eyes darted to the door whenever a new body entered the classroom every time, in hope it was the teacher so that class could get started. Eventually, the teacher did walk in looking disheveled, unshaven, and extremely harassed. He downed his thermos of coffee and turned to face his class.

"Morning, everybody," he said, running a hand through his already-messy hair. "Welcome to another year at Hetalia World Academy. I'm Mr. Zuckerberg and I'll be your mathematics teacher this term."

There was a beat of silence before one of the students wondered aloud, "I feel like I've heard that name somewhere..."

"Anyways," he reached for a clipboard, drawling the word, "I need to take roll call. Why? Because if I don't I can get fired." The man rolled his eyes at this, exasperated by this rule.

"Has... that happened to you, Mr. Zuckerberg?" the Spaniard asked, curious.

"Oh yeah, many times," Zuckerberg replied, his eyes scanning the list.

And yet the most highly-respected school in the world hired him...Kiku thought wonderingly. The boy next to her chuckled as though he'd heard what she was thinking.

"How many times?" a tall boy with straight blond hair and glasses pushed.

The teacher let out a heaving sigh and checked the student roster. "Eduard von Bock, right?" he asked, addressing the student with the glasses, who nodded. "Well, to answer your question, none of your business. I'm here to teach you math, not how to hold down a job."

"Right..." Eduard replied after holding eye contact with the teacher for nearly a minute.

"Excellent," Zuckerberg began to call out names for the rest of the students. However, when he said Kiku's name, "Kiku...Honda?

"Here," Kiku said softly from where she sat.

"...Honda is a car, right?" the teacher was now talking to himself out loud, legitimately curious.

"Er, yes..."

The eyes of her classmates were on her now, and Kiku felt herself turning red. "It is a Japanese brand, and Honda is a fairly common surname..."

Curiosity satisfied, Zuckerberg nodded and continued down the list. One by one the faces of the other students turned away and Kiku released a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"That must have been rough," the boy next to her whispered, getting her attention. "I'm sorry about that, amigo."

Kiku let a small smile cross her face, "It's fine," she let herself joke, "I am the new gir-boy after all."

Kiku's attention snapped back up front when she heard the sound of snapping fingers. Mr. Zuckerberg stopped his snapping and now was giving her a hard stare, "Mr. Honda, is there anything you'd like to share with the class?"

Kiku shook her head vigorously, "N-no, sir,"

"Stop calling me, sir. It makes me feel..." he wrinkled his nose in disgust, "old..."

The students exchanged amused glances at this statement. The teacher wasn't old, per se, but he wasn't young either.

Kiku dropped her eyes. "Yes s—ah, I mean..."

"Oh, never mind." Zuckerberg waved his hands in defeat, and took his attention off Kiku, to her relief. He continued to describe the curriculum and his expectations for the class.

The rest of the class was average for Kiku and the teacher had talked until the bell had rung. As soon as they were dismissed, Kiku hurried to her locker to exchange books. She heard the locker beside her open. Glancing over, she saw that it was an Asian woman with dark, almost black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. The girl glanced her way, and then shifted her gaze.

"Hello," she said softly, moving her eyes up and down Kiku's body. The Japanese girl shifted uncomfortably and said, "I-is there a problem?"

The other girl shook her head and smiled. "You don't really match Yao's description of you."

The minute bell rang just then, and the girl turned and walked away. Confused, Kiku decided not to think much about it, and hurried to her next class. It was Psychology, the class she had come to this school to take in the first place. Kiku made it there in record time and took a seat near the back, next to a smirking boy with white hair and shocking red eyes.

The two locked eyes and Kiku immediately could tell that he was bound for trouble. He smirked at her, "Hey, you must be that new car kid!"

Kiku didn't say a word in reply, unsure what there is to say to that. The boy continued, "Wanna see Gilbird?"

"Gil...bird?"

"Yeah!" The albino began digging through his messy backpack, searching for something.

He emerged a minute later holding something cupped in his hands. A small yellow head poked its head out from between his fingers.

"It's...an actual bird..." Kiku stammered. "You have an actual bird..."

"Well, yeah!" The boy rolled his eyes and cuddled up to the bird. "Gilbird is awesome, and he's named after me and that makes him even more awesome." His smile widened. "I'm the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt. Don't forget it!"

"Nice to meet you," Kiku mumbled, ducking her head. What was a boy like him doing in a psychology class?

"Just remember, I'm the best and I always will be."

Kiku let out a shaky laugh and she quickly sat up when she saw their teacher enter the classroom. This time, it was a woman in her late forties, wearing a bright smile on her face as she walked up to the front, "Hello, students," she turned around so that she was facing the white board, swiped a marker and printed her name neatly, "My name is Mrs. Skybond."

'These teachers have peculiar names...' Kiku blinked when she felt something hit her cheek. Her hand felt a sticky substance and her head turned to the direction it was shot. Gilbert sat, smirking, a straw in hand.

He mouthed to her, "Hi."

Kiku's jaw dropped, clearly un-amused by this behavior.

"Why?" she hissed. Gilbert was honestly getting on her nerves.

"Because I can," he drawled.

The teacher frowned in their direction, and Gilbert thankfully shut his mouth. He didn't bother her during the roll call, which lasted a good three minutes, but as soon as Mrs. Skybond turned her back, he started throwing paper wads at her face.

Eye twitching, Kiku narrowed her eyes at him to see him gesturing for her to open the crumbled notebook paper at her foot.

Sighing, she scooped up the paper and unfolded it. 'What's your name?' the paper said. Kiku grit her teeth and ignored it. She wasn't going to let a German ruin the class she had been looking forward to for months. She rigidly sat forward, trying to put Gilbert out of her mind. Kiku was normally very good at managing her emotions; what was it about him that put her so on edge?

Another wad of paper hit her head. She reached for it and tore it into pieces, her attention still focused on the front of the room.

She heard him snort at this before she felt another paper ball hit her face.

"What's your problem?" Gilbert breathed. Kiku sat rigidly in her chair, determined not to pay him any mind. People like him thrived on attention.

The teacher finally seemed to take notice when Gilbert began poking her in the side, trying to get a reaction. "Mr. Beilschmidt, is there a problem?"

Gilbert straightened up immediately. "Nope!"

"Mr. Honda, is he bothering you?"

Kiku swallowed and shook her head, keeping her eyes downcast.

Gilbert stared, wide eyed at her, surprised that she didn't rat him out. There were very few people that would actually save his ass. He frowned at her, almost confused by her behavior. Shrugging, he turned his attention to a different person, one he could get a real reaction from.

Relieved, the rest of class was somewhat enjoyable for the Japanese woman. As soon as class ended, she gathered her things and made a bolt to the doorway. She made her way down the hallways and to her dismay; Gilbert was following close behind her.

"Do you need something?" Kiku asked him, without turning around.

Arms crossed, Gilbert leaned against the wall. "Yeah. I wanna know why you didn't spill on me."

Kiku had been wondering that herself. Gilbert was immensely annoying, and most people would revel in seeing him get in trouble. After thinking about it for a moment, Kiku said "It's hardly honorable. There are times where you have to hide the truth for your best interests."

Gilbert's eyes widened, surprised by her answer, and didn't stop her as she walked away stiffly.

She hurried to her World Cultures class, hoping there weren't any more obnoxious students in this class. She quietly entered the classroom and took a seat, not paying any attention to who she had taken a seat by.

"Kiku?"An excited yet hyper voice asked. She turned her face to see Alfred, staring at her.

"Hello, Alfred-san..."

He grabbed her arm and shook it excitedly. Kiku mentally facepalmed herself. "This is so cool we have a class together and we can copy off each other like mofos!"

"I don't think that would be the best idea, Alfred-san."

Alfred released her and stared with puppy eyes. "Huh? How come?"

The incident from earlier that morning rose up in Kiku's mind, and she crushed it down. She did not need reminding of that. "Ah, well, the teacher may not approve."

"But Mathias and I do it all the time!" Alfred whined, rolling his eyes, "and we never get caught! Honest!"

"The teacher still doesn't approve, either way,"

"Well, fine. Whatever," Alfred's excitement extinguished in a second, "You just don't know how to have fun or break rules..."

_Oh, you have no idea.  
_  
"I'd rather not get in trouble," Kiku told him. Alfred opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the arrival of the World Cultures teacher, a middle-aged man who introduced himself as Mr. Foucar.

The World Cultures class was relatively normal for the most part. Thankfully, Kiku was able to have at least one class that wasn't embarrassing.

She was making her way to her English class (with a quick pit stop at her locker) when she noticed Alfred going the same route to the class as she was.

"Alfred-san?" She was now walking alongside him, "Do you have-"

"English? YES!" Alfred fist pumped at this, grinning, "Man, I'm happy to have you with me! Arthur is going to be some kinda assistant to the teacher this year."

"He is?" Kiku couldn't see Arthur being too thrilled about that. The Brit didn't seem too attached to Alfred, whatever the latter might say.

Alfred chattered mindlessly to Kiku as they climbed the stairs to the language class floor, the latter only half listening. She was preoccupied with other thoughts. Though she could speak it well, English wasn't Kiku's best subject. Talking was fine, but her writing and grammar could use work.

Alfred pulled Kiku into the classroom and beamed, "Look who's in your class, Artie!" Alfred made an elaborate gesture to the two of them, "Me and Kiku are!"

"It's Kiku and I, you git!" Arthur corrected, sighing, "Take a seat..."

"Sure, sure, nobody cares," Alfred commented on the correction, exasperated.

Alfred and Kiku obliged to this, taking seats in the third row.

"You shouldn't say things like that," Kiku told him when they sat down. "Some people care."

Alfred scoffed. "Like who?"

"Me?"

"How come?"

Kiku almost groaned aloud at his thickness. "I need to improve my English. I appreciate every correction I can get."

Alfred remained quiet for a second, deep in thought, "Hey! I can teach you!"

"...Alfred-san, I'm taking English," Kiku sighed, reminding him, "I don't need-"

"You said you'll need all the corrections you can get!"

"Don't listen to him," Arthur interrupted, giving his two cents, "Most of things he says aren't correct."

"Hey!" Alfred pouted. "I'm American! I speak English!"

"Vastly incorrect English," Arthur countered. "As I recall, you were once in a spelling bee and dropped out when you couldn't spell 'France'."

"Well, I can spell it now!" Alfred stuck his tongue out at the Brit.

"Oh really?" Arthur arched a bushy eyebrow, doubtful. "Enlighten me then, how do you spell 'France?'"

"F-R-A-N-S." America spelled, and then grinned, pointing at the Brit, "TAKE THAT, BITCH!"

"..."

Arthur turned to Kiku and said in a superbly deadpan voice, "If you need any help come talk to me."

She nodded wordlessly.

Alfred resumed sitting and crossed his arms, sulking. Arthur and Kiku exchanged a glance with a sigh.

Slowly, more students filed in and took their seats. The head teacher had finally walked in, took one look at a sulking Alfred and asked Arthur, "What's wrong now?"

"He can't spell,"

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

Kiku stared at the two conversing. It was almost as if Alfred was in need of special attention by every teacher. Either that or he gets himself in a lot of trouble. Both seemed likely, and Kiku figured it was in her best interest not to delve too far into it.

With a sharp "Perk up, Jones," the teacher and Arthur took their places at the head of the class.

"I am Mrs. Weiss," she said. "I will be your English teacher this year." She nodded towards Arthur. "This is Arthur Kirkland, my assistant."

"Boo," Alfred said softly. Weiss gave him a glare before resuming her introduction.

"I understand that, for many of you, English is not your first language. I am here to help you improve your vocal skills and advanced grammar."

_This was the class I needed_, Kiku smiled, happy to learn more about the English language.

"Are there any questions before I take role call?"

"Yeah," Kiku inwardly face palmed herself. It was Alfred. "Why are we doing this? What good is it?"

The teacher didn't react to the insult, but simply smiled and asked, "Why are we doing what, Alfred?"

"Why do we have to learn more? I mean, we already speak it. What else is there?"

The class was dead silent. Kiku clenched her fists and seethed. He was so childish! Honestly, what was he planning do with his life? If Alfred could just insult people like that...and to think she had to room with him.

"Alfred," the teacher replied, her tone calm and even, "please see me after class,"

"You haven't answered my question! You're a teacher!"

"Alfred-san, stop it," Kiku felt every pair of eyes on her instead of Alfred now. The Japanese girl didn't care. Alfred was being rude and he didn't seem close to stopping with his sass anytime soon. He seemed to listen to her, though.

"...Fine, I was just wondering," Alfred grumbled, sinking down in his seat.

The class let out a collective breath and glanced at Kiku with something akin to grudging respect. One let out a low whistle. Well, they didn't have to live with the irritating American.

Mrs. Weiss and Arthur conversed in low tones in a corner for a few moments before they turned around and began class with the roll taking. Throughout the rest of the period, Alfred sat with his arms cross staring straight ahead. When the bell finally rang, Kiku bolted out the door with her fellow students, while Alfred and Arthur hung back. It was lunch time, and everyone was starving.

Kiku stopped by her locker to drop her bag off, not paying much attention to anyone else until she heard arguing coming up behind her. Risking a swift glance, she saw Alfred and Arthur coming up the hall bickering.

"Really, could you be any less tactful?" Arthur's voice was harsh and disapproving.

"It was a legitimate question that I had," Alfred replied bitterly. "And that's what we do in school, we ask questions."

"Not questions such as those!" Arthur snapped at the American who rolled his eyes in reply.

Kiku watched as Alfred swung an arm around her and said as an excuse, "Look, Artie, Kiku and I have to go eat lunch. So get off my ass for now, okay?"

The last person she wanted to eat with was Alfred. Then again, he was likely to abandon her.

Arthur looked to her sympathetically. "I feel bad for Kiku. He has to room with you. I bet he transfers out after your little stunt in class today; he'd be too tired of your attitude after only one day. Even Feliciano lasted longer."

Alfred flinched away from Kiku, who stifled the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't so weak as to cave after one bad moment in class...and that moment in their dorm room.

"Changing rooms is a hassle," she said flatly, ducking out from next to Alfred. "I'm fine."

The American's face split into a wide grin. "See Artie? Even Kiku knows I'm too epic to NOT room with!"

"That's not what he was saying..." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's just go eat."

"Alright!" Alfred fist-pumped and grabbed Kiku's sleeve. "Come on! I'll introduce you to all my friends! Artie, you might as well come too."

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: Loooooooong.**

**Lolo: We were planning to make this chapter her entire first day, but it's split! :3**

**Hatsu: Because it's loooooooong.**

**Lolo: Hey, hey, I just heard the Nordic song AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL.**

**Hatsu: *needs to listen; dies crying***

**Lolo: Er... HOW ABOUT THEM OLYMPICS? *appears geared up in USA attire* THAT OPENING CEREMONY. I mean... THE QUEEN SKYDOVE WITH JAMES BOND.**

**Hatsu: THERE WAS VOLDEMORT!**

**Lolo: HE PLAYED HIS PART WELL.**

**Lolo: I KNOW THE BASIC CHARACTERS. XD Like... Ron, Harry Potter, Dumbledore, Snape... And VOLDEMORT. *hasn't read a Harry Potter book in her life***

**Hatsu: I didn't know you knew Dumbledore.**

**Lolo: I... knew him after my mistake of calling the headmaster Hogwarts…**

**Hatsu: Please don't make fun of Lolo for her pitifully small knowledge of Harry Potter...she can't help it...**

**Lolo: ...You can say 'Shame on you' in a review though... OH. ONE PERSON WE NEED TO THANK.**

**Hatsu: YEAH!...um.**

**Lolo: Mark. Mark Zuckerberg.**

**Hatsu: Oh yeah. Inventor of Facebook.**

**Lolo: This fic wouldn't be possible without Mr. Zuckerberg... AND a very special thank you to all of you guys. The readers... the reviewers... the alerters... and the favers.**

**Hatsu: All of our collabs are written over Facebook Chat. So we owe that man an awful bloody lot. AND WE OWE ALL OF YOU AN AWFUL BLOODY LOT, YOU BEAUTIFUL FOLK.**

**Lolo: WE DO. THANK YOU.**

**Hatsu: We should also thank the Queen of England for being awesome.**

**Lolo: ESPECIALLY HER. Not many Queens have decided to do that. Even if it was a stunt double.**

**Hatsu: I'm tired...next chapter shall be up soon. Like, later today or tomorrow. Lolo and I are planning it as we speak.**

**Lolo: Indeed! Please take the time to review! :)**

**Hatsu: PLEASE! The more you review, the sooner we update.**

**Lolo: It's what motivates us!**

**Hatsu: It's a proven fact.**

**Lolo: See ya!**

**Hatsu: Bye!**


	5. Some Frenchies Be Flippin

Alfred pulled Kiku along, Arthur following close behind. Neither of them seemed very excited, but the American either didn't notice or pretended not to. Honestly, Kiku would rather eat by herself or search out Yao to sit with, instead of being subject to the torture that was her roommate. Who knew what kind of friends he had? Okay, maybe she was being a bit prejudgmental, but Alfred hadn't exactly given her the better of first impressions.

Kiku was pulled into the dreaded cafeteria where she was abandoned. There were many choices for lunch in the cafeteria, but it was loud and full of bustling students. She was directed to a lunch table. He pushed her down into a seat then took his own across from her. She recognized Gilbert from earlier had approached them and plopped down next to Kiku.

He took one look at Alfred and Kiku and smirked, "You're rooming with Jones?"

"Yes." she replied, making an attempt to stand up. She hadn't purchased her food after all.

"Aw, don't leave," Gilbert whined. Kiku sighed and said, "I don't have any food..."

"Don't worry about that! The rest of the guys will show up and then we all swap."

Kiku blinked. "The rest of the guys?"

"Yeah!" Gilbert grinned and pointed. "They're coming. Al's talking to a couple right now."

She glanced over and surely enough there he was. She frowned; noticing that one of them was the friend Alfred abandoned her to go talk to. He was a blond headed loud mouth and didn't seem to be aware of how obnoxious he could be.

Kiku stared then asked Gilbert, "Is he always this loud?"

"Yeah!" Gilbert waved for the blond to join them. He then pointed, "That's Mathias, the one with girlishly long blond hair and the beard is Francis. Oh, and that's Antonio, he's my friend." the albino stood up, searching the cafeteria, "I can't find Ravi, though..."

Kiku recognized Antonio as the Spaniard she sat next to in math class. Well, maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. She didn't recognize the name Ravi, though, and asked Gilbert about it.

"Ravi's one of my best friends!" he fist pumped. "He's not as fun as Francis and Antonio, but he's Indian and has good alcohol."

"Oh..." Kiku murmured in reply, her attention catching the man known as Francis walking up to her. She watched as the man took a seat by her, a confident smile on his face, "Bonjour~"

"Er... hello," Kiku gave a nod in his direction.

She didn't like the look Francis was giving her, and looked away. Alfred came bounding up with a few more people in tow. Arthur, a very large boy with violet eyes and a creepy smile, and, to Kiku's relief, Yao. The Chinese gave her a bright smile and waved before taking the seat next to her.

"Yao." Kiku breathed, relieved to have a familiar and sane person amongst them.

"Ni-hao!" Yao greeted in his native tongue. "How is school so far?"

"Whoa, Kiku, you know Yao already?" Alfred looked between the two of them, looking oddly betrayed.

Kiku nodded. "Yes, he was very...helpful to me last night."

Yao laughed and hugged her. "Kiku's very sweet! We're friends, aru!"

"Sweet..." Alfred and Kiku said together, pondering.

"You sure?" the American asked. "He doesn't really do much. Like, smile or anything."

"Maybe remaining emotionally neutral is how he puts up with you," Arthur scoffed.

Alfred glared at the Brit and crossed his arms, "You're just jealous 'cause my roommate isn't annoying like Francis."

If there were a book stored with the worst comebacks. Alfred's would be in it.

"...Right," Arthur turned to face Kiku, repeating Yao's question, "So how do you like Hetalia World Academy?"

"It is very interesting," Kiku answered. "I see why it's the most highly recommended school in the world.

"Not just for the classes, but the girls as well," Francis chipped in, an odd glint in his eye. He looked Kiku over. "And perhaps...some of the boys as well..."

"Keep the horniness to yourself, Froggy!" Arthur snapped while Gilbert burst into laughter.

"I see no problem," the large boy with the creepy smile added. "He is doing what is normal, da?"

Yao spluttered and glared at him. "Ivan, you could keep it to yourself too, aru."

He jumped to his feet, pulling Kiku up as well and quickly said, "Excuse us, I would like to introduce her to some of my friends, aru."

The group stared with arched eyebrows. Yao caught his slip and quickly said, "I meant him... I'm sorry. I was thinking about Mei as I said that." he let out an embarrassed laugh before dragging Kiku away.

They hadn't even walked five steps before Kiku found herself stopped and an accented voice whispering in her ear, "Don't leave yet, mon cher. We didn't mean it, I promise."

Yao froze when Kiku stopped walking, and turned around. "Francis..."

Kiku was perfectly still and had gone white. However, she drew the line when Francis' arm snaked around her waist.

When Kiku was younger, around five or six years old, she had been close to obsessed with fighting anime. Enough to beg and convince her parents to enroll her in martial arts. Between that age and age twelve, she had risen in the ranks considerably. Though she hadn't practiced since her parents' death, her body remembered the skills enough to ensure she was still a formidable fighter when pushed. The thought barely registering in her mind, she grabbed Francis' wrist and spun around. If she could gather enough force to pick him up off his feet, she could use his momentum to send him flying. This was exactly what she did.

Francis suddenly found himself heaved over Kiku's back and before he knew it was sprawling on the cafeteria floor, next to a dead-silent lunch table.

Though out of breath (Francis weighed more than she calculated) Kiku managed to say, "Please don't touch me like that."

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Alfred shouted, standing up to see Francis, "you didn't tell me you were a ninja!"

"...A ninja?" Kiku repeated, confused. She wasn't a ninja... what was he talking about?

"Yeah! That kung-fu shit you did there!" Alfred gave her a thumbs up, grinning, "I've never seen anything like it! I mean-"

"Alfred, sweetie, there you are!"

While everyone else was fussing over Kiku and her "ninja skills" (Prussia had convinced Antonio to do a reenactment) Alfred turned to see the girl rushing up to him with a broad grin on her face.

"Sup?" he asked.

"Al, that's no way to greet your girlfriend," she pouted, slapping him playfully on the arm. This got the attention of the others, who turned their attention away from Kiku.

Yao touched the Japanese's arm. "Ah, it's her...we should go now, aru."

"Hm? Why?"

"I don't know how to put this but..." Yao grimaced as the couple kissed. He lowered his voice, "she's... a bitch, aru."

Kiku's eyes widened in surprise by Yao's choice of words. Yao continued, "You don't want to be caught with her, now let's-"

"Who's this, Alfie?" she pointed a long pink nail towards Kiku and Yao's direction.

"That's Kiku, my roommate, who is the most badass ninja ever!"

The girl sniffed. "You look like a girl."

"Rude!" Yao snapped, pulling Kiku further away.

She waved a hand. "Shut up Yao, so do you."

That was it for the Chinese. He turned bright red and began yelling Chinese obscenities at her. Kiku tugged on his arm, muttering, "Calm down, it's fine..."

"You do kinda look like a girl," Alfred snickered behind his hand, making the Yao seethe with anger.

"See? Even my Alfie agrees," Kiku stared at the woman as she wriggled underneath Alfred's arm, attaching herself to the boy. The Japanese woman's disgust went up when the girl was adjusting her uniform, making sure more cleavage was showing.

"We're going to be on our way," Kiku replied calmly.

"Whatever," the girl said, taking Kiku's spot at the table. The others, who had been strangely silent, immediately began chattering to diffuse the tension. Yao grabbed Kiku's hand and pulled her furiously out of the cafeteria. He seemed to calm down as they marched away. He took a few deep breathes and sighed, "I really hate her, aru."

In Kiku's opinion, Yao was far too nice and cheerful to fully hate someone, but there it was. "Who is she?"

"Alyssa what's-her-last-name. Alfred's girlfriend, aru. Really, what he sees in her..."

"Ah... how long have they been together?" Kiku asked, wondering how long the relationship's been lasting.

"All summer, aru," he replied curtly.

"Oh... who did you want me to meet?" Kiku quickly changed the subject, not wanting to be gossiping.

Yao perked up a bit. "My friends, aru! They're much nicer than Alfred's crew, even if I do hang around them a lot unintentionally. Ivan..." He visibly suppressed a shudder. "Anyway, I think you'll fit right in, aru!"

"Where do you usually sit?"

"On the roof, aru!"

"Alright...

Yao led her through the building and up innumerable amounts of stairs before opening a door. They were assaulted by crisp open air and the sound of a group bickering.

The group's heads snapped in their direction, greeting the two newcomers with a bright smile. Kiku immediately recognized Hong and Mei. As Yao and her walked closer to the table, she noticed that the Asian woman she encountered at her locker was seated as well. However, there were two others she didn't know. One boy had brown styled hair that stuck up and wired glasses that were beginning to fall off. The other boy had a darker shade of brown and one curl that was sticking up, he wore a bright smile and was first to jump to his feet, "Yao!"

Yao halted and went into a defensive position. "Yong Soo, if you touch me you will be flipped, aru!"

"I wooon't," the Korean pouted.

"Do not touch Kiku, either, aru! He will certainly flip you! He did it earlier!

"Okayyy."

"Teacher jumped the gun today," Mei snickered. "Too bad, Yong Soo."

"He wouldn't have had to Yong Soo would just behave himself," the girl with the ponytail muttered.

"That's rare, though, aru," Yao rolled his eyes, before returning his focus at Kiku, "Oh! Right. So the girl in the ponytail is Lien and the boy in the glasses is Binh. Oh... and that's Yong Soo."

The students introduced gave Kiku a light wave. She introduced herself in turn.

Yao looked around, a confused expression on his face. "We're missing someone."

"He was held after class for some reason," Binh answered, adjusting his glasses. "He'll be here soon."

"Who?" Kiku asked.

"My brother," Yong Soo said, bouncing next to her. "It's just like Yao said! You're really cute!

"Hands off his chest, Yong," Lien said quickly. He stuck his tongue at her.

They all sat down in a circle. It was nice being around people who weren't perverted or crazy, Kiku mused, even though Yong Soo did make a couple joke lunges at her. His brother, Hyung Soo, eventually did turn up. He was a quiet boy with a long braid who seemed to be angry at everything. Kiku called to mind the term "tsundere" and figured it applied to Hyung Soo perfectly.

The Asians were nice enough to share their food with her, as she had never had the opportunity to buy any for herself. Lien and Yao shared a look when she related her living experiences with Alfred to them, while Mei and Yong Soo laughed. All in all, it was a fairly pleasant experience and Kiku was glad to have made some friends that didn't feel the need to force themselves on her. When the bell rang for class, Yao offered to walk her—"To protect from pervy French, aru!—and thus Kiku began the second half of her school day.

**A/N: **

**Hatsu: Two updates in a single day…aren't you all spoiled. There's not much to say that Lolo and I didn't say earlier, so we can finish up really quick!**

**Name Index:**

**Gilbert Beilschmidt- Prussia**

**Matthias- Denmark **

**Ivan- Russia**

**Antonio- Spain**

**Ravi- India**

**Lien- Vietnam (Again, thank you to A.R.C. Fangirl for the names!)**

**Binh- Thailand**

**Hyung Soo- North Korea**

**Alyssa…is Alfred's girlfriend. She's not a country. She is there for sexual tension, and Lolo and I hate her. We figured a good punishment for her would be food spam. Lolo decided that was a good punishment after I accidentally spammed her Tumblr dashboard with pictures of cake.**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	6. King's Palace

"What class do you have next, aru?" Yao asked as he walked with Kiku down the hallways.  
Kiku reached for her schedule and read, "Physical Education or P.E. for shor-"

"We have a class together, aru!" Yao interrupted, his smile growing bigger.

"We do? But aren't you a senior?"

"It's a combined class. It'll have people from every grade, aru."

Kiku nodded. That made sense. "Do you know of anyone else who is in our class?"

Yao's expression darkened, "Yong Soo..." he brightened when he added, "And Lien, too."

"Ah."

"Here's the locker room, aru," Yao held the door open, breathing, "ladies first."

"Thank you." Kiku muttered as soon as she walked inside. She stared at her gym bag then to the stripping men.

Shit.

She had not thought about this.

Yao noticed her expression and paled. Evidently he had not considering this either. He recovered fairly quickly, however, and pulled her into a separate small room.

"There are private stalls in here, aru. The school really paid attention to the different cultures. They figured some would be too shy."

"Lucky for me," Kiku muttered, ducking into one. Outside, she heard Alfred's voice. This just kept getting worse.

"Hey Yao!" she heard him yell. "Did I just see Kiku?"

Yao quickly replied, "No aru, that was Yong Soo."

"Yong's over there, though," Alfred pointed to the shirtless Korean who looked up at the sound of his name and waved.

Yao's bright smile was frozen when he saw the Korean. He cleared his throat and replied, "Yes... er, how's school, Alfred?"

"Oh it's good!" Alfred grinned. "Boring, but good! I swear I did see Kiku though..."

Yao coughed and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Well, Kiku is Japanese, aru. They don't like showing their bodies to others. I bet he's shy and in the private stalls, aru."

Alfred shrugged. "Whatever."

Kiku let out a sigh of relief. If she didn't have Yao, she had no clue what she would do. She quietly changed into her gym clothes and left the stall, brushing herself off as she did so. She hardly turned the corner when-

"YOUR BREASTS ARE MINE, DA-ZE~"

Kiku froze as hands suddenly grabbed her chest and began feeling her up, moving dangerously close to her binding. She let out a startled yelp, getting Yao and Alfred's attention.

"Ai, Yong Soo, aru! What the hell did we say at lunch? You leave Kiku alone!"

Alfred broke into his obnoxious laughter when he saw Yong Soo groping Kiku. Yao shot the American a glare before pulling the Korean off of the Japanese. He sighed as Yong Soo stuck out his lower lip. Sometimes the youth was too much of a handful, "You need to break out of that habit, aru."

"Yong Soo, dude, you're hilarious!" Alfred gave the teen a slap on the back.

"Please don't do that," Kiku muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Man Kiku, lighten up!" Alfred frowned at his roommate. "Seriously, you're so uptight."

Yao opened his mouth to defend her, but at that moment the teacher called for everyone to vacate the locker room. The men (and girl) hurried out the door with Kiku being last. She was taking her time, not seeing the point in shoving to the front. Unfortunately for her, she bumped in Alfred's girlfriend. It was a complete accident and even when Kiku continually apologized to the woman, Alyssa wouldn't accept it.

"What the hell is your problem?" She snapped, overreacting.

"I am sorry, Alyssa-san," Kiku gave yet another bow to the girl.

"Alyssa WHAT?" she shrieked, face red with anger.

"Never mind, excuse me," Kiku beat a hasty retreat, seeking out Yao, Yong Soo, and Lien on the field.

"She's so mean, da ze," Yong Soo frowned, scowling at Alyssa's back. The girl in question was climbing all over Alfred.

"Alfred's not the brightest but surely he can see what's wrong with her?" Lien wondered aloud.

"Apparently not, if they're still together, aru." Yao just shook his head.

Kiku noticed that they weren't the only ones on the field eyeing the couple with distaste. A girl with wavy brown hair was miming vomiting, while her dark-haired companion just sighed.

Loud whispers caught her attention just then.

"Gilbert, you're not going to get the girl when you tease her 24/7..." a boy with a thick Indian accent told his German friend. Kiku glanced over at the two standing their distance, watching the girl and boy.

"Well, what else can I do?" Gilbert rolled his eyes at the Indian, "don't answer that. You suck at giving advice."

Kiku cracked a smile at this. So Gilbert has a crush. She mentally noted that she' should keep an eye out for that. Her attention returned to the Asians, asking, "Who're they?"

"That's Elizabeta and Roderich," Lien answered her question, mind elsewhere.

"They're a couple, last I've heard, aru," Yao remarked, before elbowing her lightly, "Teacher's going to speak.

"Everyone calm down!" the teacher hollered, his voice carrying over the field. "I'm Mr. Lopez. Since today is your first day back, we're going to begin the year with a nice easy game of dodgeball."

A cheer rose up among the students. Alyssa could be seen inspecting her nails. "Now the teams will be divided by counting you off into one's and two's," he then proceeded to do his routine of dividing them. Kiku was given the number two and went over to her side of the room. She watched as Alyssa came to her side, fuming. Kiku assumed that the girl didn't want to play.

Alyssa perked up immediately when she saw Alfred was on her team. Figures. Kiku rolled her eyes at this, almost amused.

"She's pathetic..." she heard Lien comment. Kiku turned around; now noticing Lien was put on her team. Yao and Yong Soo were on the opposing.

"Yes." Kiku agreed with the Vietnamese.

"What's your next class?"

"Hm?" Kiku glanced over at her, before answering, "I have a free period."

"Same. We should hang out."

"Alright, but is now the time to discuss this?"

The opposing team had made a mad dash for the balls, and managed to grab over half of them. Alfred grabbed one and began a maniacal system of catching the balls and throwing them back to whomever had originally thrown it. Kiku's jaw dropped. She wasn't surprised, but it's not something she expected. She had to admit, Alfred was an impressive athlete. Kiku picked up a ball to protect herself with and readied herself for any balls coming in her direction. One came along almost immediately. Kiku dodged and threw her ball as hard as she could. It barely hit the girl Elizabeta in the shoulder. She gave the Japanese a thumb up before sitting down on the sidelines.

Kiku gave a soft smile at this. She hadn't expected someone at this school to be a good sport. She returned her focus on the other dodge balls coming at her. She almost got taken out by a couple, dodging only at the last second. A person on her team nailed Yao in the gut and Yong Soo in the chest only a moment later. Kiku supposed it was probably Alfred who did it. The American was dominating the game, throwing balls left and right while not letting any go close to him. With a wicked smile, he chucked the ball he was holding and knocked Roderich's glasses off.

The teams were dwindling in numbers by the time Kiku finally got out. She had been surviving by dodging and catching balls, until an opponent caught her unawares immediately after she threw. Kiku smiled at Yao as she sat down next to him and Yong Soo, and the three of them watched Lien catch and fire three balls in rapid succession.

The fun ended rather immediately when a familiar, high-pitched shriek echoed over the field. Someone had hit Alyssa. The girl in question had been hovering behind Alfred, cringing every time anything got near her. It seemed someone had hit her right in the side of her face, and while all it did was leave a red mark, Alyssa was livid.

"Prepare for an eruption..." Yong Soo whispered to Kiku who gave a stiff nod in reply. The teacher blew the whistle and made his way over to Alyssa, shoving the students as he walked. Alfred was already trying his best to comfort her, feeling terrible that he couldn't have caught the ball in time.

"Alyssa, is everything alright?" Mr. Lopez asked, truly concerned. After all, nobody screams bloody murder for no reason.

"No, it's not." she sniffed, then crossed her arms, "Gilbert threw a ball at my face, on purpose!"

"What?" the Indian was first to react, giving the woman a hard stare, "you're overreacting. It was a complete accident."

Gilbert laughed, "I was aiming for your stomach, but I kinda like you with that red mark on your face..."

Ravi sent Gilbert a warning look, who shrugged in reply.

"You think this is funny?" Alyssa screamed. "You could have killed me!" There were other words mixed in as well, but they are not to be repeated in the presence of polite company.

"That really is overreacting," Ravi shot back, defending his German friend.

"Yeah, really." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Come on, Al knows it was an accident, right?"

Alfred bit his lip, eyes darting from his friends to Alyssa, conflicted about what to do. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to see his girlfriend giving him puppy eyes. She whispered, "Alfie, they were really trying to hurt me. Gilbert's friend even threatened me before this started."

Alfred's mouth was agape, in shock. His attention turned to the accused, "What the hell is your problem, guys?"

"See! I told- Wait, what?" Gilbert did a double take, completely taken by surprise.

Ravi held his head, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.

"You guys threatened my girlfriend and then hurt her!" Alfred pushed up his wired glasses, giving Gilbert a menacing glare.

"Great!" Gilbert threw his arms up in defeat, "he believes her, but not us. I thought we agreed..." he smirked, "Bros before hoes?"

"Rules change," Alyssa sniffed. She almost seemed to will tears into her eyes. "And my head really hurts! I swear my brain is bleeding!"

"You have a brain?" Yao mumbled. Kiku covered her smile with her hand while Yong Soo snickered outright.

Mr. Lopez sighed heavily. "I doubt it's anything as serious as a concussion, but..." He glanced around the field. "Lien, would you mind taking Alyssa to the nurse?"

The Vietnamese girl turned purple and spluttered incoherently.

"Well, come on," Alyssa snapped at her. "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

Lien looked around desperately before staring towards Yao and the others. With a resigned look on her face, she called over "I'll catch up with you later..."

Kiku watched as Alyssa continued to whine about her head as Lien lead her out. She shook her head in disgust. This girl was getting out of control. It was almost like she controlled Alfred and the school.

The rest of gym class went smoothly after that. Alfred was holding a serious grudge over the Alyssa incident though. As soon as gym class ended, Gilbert went to go talk with Alfred about what happened, thinking they can brush it off and continue on, but the American refused to speak with him.

"Alfred's going to eventually lose all of his friends, because of her..." Yao remarked as they walked back to the locker room.

"It's confusing," Yong Soo chipped in.

"Don't start liking a girl like that, aru," Yao advised him.

"As if! Yao has no faith in me, da ze..."

They managed to get changed without any notable incidents and soon the bell rang for the free period.

"I need to find Lien," Kiku told the two boys. She then added, "She has a free period as well."

"Have fun, aru!" Yao exclaimed, giving her a wave as he hurried off to class.

"Why's he running?" Kiku wondered aloud, confused by Yao's excitement.

"He has a cooking class," Yong Soo explained, smiling, "he's really excited about it."

"That explains it," Kiku smiled. "I'm sure he's very good at cooking already."

"Yep! Yao makes the greatest food you will ever eat in your life." Yong Soo sighed happily. "It's like...taste bud heaven, da ze..."

The minute bell rang then, jerking him out of his reverie. He waved to Kiku also and bolted off. "I have to go to math! See you later!"

Alone in the hallway, with a few other students milling about, Kiku decided she had better begin her search for Lien. The most obvious place to start would be the nurse's office, but she had no idea where that was. However, a teacher walking by was more than happy to give her directions and in no time at all Kiku was nearing the office. Lien was, thankfully, still there. She was found leaning against the wall, patiently waiting for Alyssa to come out. It had been thirty minutes since she was hit. What was taking her so long?

"Are you still waiting?" Kiku asked, frowning.

"I can't believe this girl," Lien seethed. Kiku was surprised to see the normally stoic girl so angry. "She was nasty all the way here and the second we walk through the door she gets all pathetic and bursts into tears to get the nurse to take pity on her."

Kiku grimaced. "I'm sorry. What did she say to you?"

Lien raised her voice an octave, in an attempt to mimic Alyssa, "You should be grateful that you're taking me. You get out of gym and get to take me to the nurse." she returned to her normal voice, "Then somewhere along the way, she called me ugly and questioned why I'm not dating Binh or Yao."

"That's horrible," Kiku told her.

"I know! I'm not dating Yao or Binh because they're just close friends. We actually had to clarify that to a few people our first year." Lien groaned. "Let's just stop talking about this. What do you want to do for the next hour?"

"I don't know," Kiku shrugged, "I've only been here for a day in a half."

Lien paused thoughtfully. Finally, she suggested, "We can go grab a snack."

"Ah, okay."

"The vending machines will be busy, but there's a snack bar across the street from campus."

"Alright."

Lien smiled at her. "And I'll get to show you around at the same time. There are some good restaurants in the area. Most of the time, everyone eats breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria, but the majority leaves campus for dinner."

"We should get dinner tonight with Yao," Kiku said after a beat of silence.

"Sure, that sounds great," Lien replied with a quick wave of her hand and lead Kiku down the school stairs.

"What are your hobbies, Kiku?"

Kiku thought for a moment. Most of her free time back home was spent studying and working her job. There weren't many moments in between. "Well...I enjoy video games. I used to do martial arts as well, but I've been out of practice for a few years."

She didn't mention that she made cosplay. Sewing wasn't most people's definition of 'masculine'.

"Hm." Lien hummed in reply as they cross the street, "I apologize for Yong Soo's groping. Yao told me about it..."

Kiku's face was turning pink from embarrassment, "Ah, it was fine. No worries."

"He typically gropes for breasts."

"I imagined as much."

"He does go after men as well, like Yao, but for the most part..."

Lien was looking at Kiku strangely, making the Japanese girl feel uncomfortable. "I-is there a problem?"

"Huh?" Lien looked startled, then swiftly recovered. "No, there isn't. Come on, the snack bar's right over there."

"Ah, alright."

The Vietnamese woman led Kiku to the snack bar. They each ordered a coffee and a muffin then took their seats.

"P.E. was interesting," Lien commented, trying to start a conversation.

"I saw you play after I got out," Kiku answered. "It was impressive."

"Everything was going well until..."

"Yes."

"I missed the end of the game, who won?"

"My team did," Kiku told her. "I suppose we had an advantage with Alfred-san."

Lien nodded. "He's always been one of the best athletes. All the sports teams want him."

The two were quiet for a moment. Then Lien turned to Kiku with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You know, with the two of us sitting here, people might think we're on a date."

Kiku jerked, and Lien laughed when she raised her coffee mug and drank to try and cover up her reddening face. The Vietnamese girl giggled again and said, "It's alright, I know we're not. I know you're a girl."

Kiku immediately spit out her coffee.

"W-What?"

"It was easy to figure out." Lien took a casual sip of her coffee.

"How?" Kiku stammered, "Yao fixed my mannerisms and...and..."

"Girl intuition?"

"I don't believe that," Kiku groaned. "That's close to what Yao said!"

Lien grinned at her reaction. "Okay, that was a joke. I worked it out of Yao. He gets this superior look on his face when he knows something nobody else does; it's easy to tell when he has a secret."

Kiku's head flopped onto the table with a dull bang. Lien patted her back.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone either. Yao told me why you did it and I agree with him. It's impressive."

"It's not that," Kiku moaned. "I do trust you. But if it's this easy to tell, how long am I going to last?"

"Don't worry," Lien leaned back in her chair, "Yao and I will be making sure nobody else finds out."

"But still..." Kiku sighed, lifting her head.

"If it makes you feel better, I thought you were a feminine looking man..." Lien offered, wearing a comforting smile.

"It does help a bit, thank you." Kiku sighed. "I really appreciate this."

"I would too," Lien said.

With a deep breath, Kiku said, "What are the odds that someone else finds out before the end of the day?"

"Well, it depends." Lien crossed her arms, asking, "What's your next class?"

"Service... why?"

Lien's eyes widened as her jaw fell, "Service? Are you absolutely sure?"

Kiku handed her the schedule she had been given. "Service, seventh hour."

"You're doomed," Lien said flatly. Kiku went pale. "Service is full of people like Gilbert and Alfred, and sometimes Alyssa. It doesn't have a good reputation."

"Yao said he's in service..." Kiku murmured before raising her voice, "is there anyone that is sane that I can tolerate?"

"There are a few," Lien replied, taking another sip of her drink.

"A few..."

"Yep. At least Yao will be there. I'm not sure why, though. Anyway, the bell will ring soon. We should get back to school."

The two stood and paid for their food before heading out the door.

"What class do you have next?" Kiku asked Lien as they entered campus.

"Biology. I want to be a botanist. My family owns a lot of greenhouses."

Kiku certainly wasn't yet used to being surrounded by the wealthy, but she kept that to herself.

"Ah, goodbye then," Kiku waved to her then turned to head to her Service class. She was dreading this based on everyone's reactions to it.

Kiku entered the classroom that was already full of students acting up. There were only a select few who were seated, quietly. She sought out Yao, who was in a corner by himself.

"Oh thank god you're here, aru," he sighed as she approached. "This place is driving me crazy."

"I am not looking forward to it much, myself," Kiku replied. Yao pointed over to the left.

"Look at that."

A few yards away, Ivan was cowering from a pretty girl with long blond hair. Everyone else in the room seemed to be avoiding that area.

"That's Ivan's half-sister Natalia, aru."

"Half-sister?"

"His mother had him and his sister Katyusha, then got remarried and had Natalia, aru," Yao explained. "She's...slightly obsessed with him, aru."

"I see."

Yao smiled a bit darkly. "Ivan is very scary. But he's afraid of Natalia. She's more evil than he is, aru."

"Is there a point to this?" Kiku wondered why Yao was bothering to tell her all this.

"Natalia rooms with Alyssa, aru. There couldn't ever be a worse match. But the thing is," Yao leaned back in his chair, "Natalia isn't stupid. She wins every argument they get into."

"Wow, impressive," Kiku gave a nod of approval.

"Yes, aru," Yao grinned then added, "As long as you don't talk to Ivan, then Natalia has no plans to hurt you."

"She hurts people?"

"On certain conditions."

Kiku made a mental note to stay away from Natalia. She seemed to only be interested in Ivan, anyway.

The chatter in the classroom increased and nobody seemed to notice a small, mousy man walk in next to a large, strong-looking blond. He tried to get everyone's attention, but nobody paid him any. The blond finally shouted, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP." everyone's heads snapped to the front, each slightly frightened by the sudden scream.

"Oh great, it's the potato lover..." a brunette Italian muttered, exasperated.

"Hello class," the mousy man greeted, "my name is Mr. Snuffles and that's Ludwig. Do whatever he says."

"..."

"Welcome to your first Service class of the year!" Snuffles put on fake enthusiasm.

"Hey bro!" a voice called out. Everyone turned to see Gilbert waving madly at Ludwig, who facepalmed.

"They're brothers?" Kiku whispered to Yao.

"Gilbert's older," he replied back softly. "He was held back a year, that's why he and Ludwig are in the same grade, aru."

"Interesting..."

"Today in Service, we're going to go weed the school garden." Snuffles instructed, completely ignoring Gilbert's outburst.

"Weeding?" Matthias repeated, wrinkling his nose.

"Some of you are. Some others will be cleaning classrooms on the east wing," Ludwig said.

"Hey, aren't you gonna work?" the brunette Italian demanded.

"Lovino," Ludwig sighed. "I'm an assistant. Yes, I will be working also."

"Alright," Snuffles said. "You take care of this, Ludwig. I have things to attend to." With that, he left the classroom. Ludwig read off who would be doing what. Kiku was left to go help with the garden. She noticed that she was put with the worst of the troublemakers. Why her? Yao was put in the classroom.

Great.

She headed outside with Gilbert, Ravi (who said he was there to keep an eye on his friend. If Gilbert needed both Ravi and Ludwig to babysit him, he must be worse than Kiku thought.) The girl Elizabeta, who traded insults with Gilbert at every opportunity, Natalia, Matthias, and the Italian named Lovino. The others-Yao, Alfred, Ivan, Francis, Yong Soo, to Kiku's surprise, and a few more students stayed inside and headed to the east wing of the building.

The group immediately went to work. Mathias and Gilbert were often chucking weeds at people for the fun of it. Lovino was arguing with Ludwig, and Elizabeta and Ravi were minding their own business. Natalia was by herself on the other side of the garden, using her knife to pull the weeds.

"Hey, hey, Eliza," Kiku overheard Gilbert. She looked over at them, wondering what Gilbert was up to.

"What is it?" Elizabeta straightened up and crossed her arms. Everyone else stopped working to pay attention. Ludwig was preoccupied and didn't seem to notice the death glare his brother and the Hungarian girl were giving each other. "I bet..." Gilbert drawled, smirking, "that I can pull weeds faster than you."

Alarm crossed everyone's faces. Kiku was confused; it was just a contest, right?

Seeing her confusion, Ravi whispered to her, "When those two compete, they get over-competitive..."

"I don't understand..."

"Just watch."

Within minutes, half the garden was torn up by Gilbert and Elizabeta. Dirt and weeds flew everywhere, coating the bystanders. Ludwig stood silent; apparently it just wasn't worth it to try and break up the competition.

Ravi shook dirt out of his hair. "See what I mean?"

"Yes..."

When they were finally finished, Ludwig announced that everyone could go find a bathroom and clean up, an offer which everyone responded to enthusiastically. Kiku, however, hurried to the empty locker room to shower. The rest of the men were dusting themselves off in the bathroom so she figured she should be safe. She quickly stripped and hopped into the warmth of the shower, enjoying her few minutes of by herself. She scrubbed the dirt that was thrown at her during Elizabeta and Gilbert's weed competition. Once Kiku deemed herself clean, she rushed out, drying herself as quickly as she could. She pulled on her pants and began wrapping her chest. Kiku went as quickly as she could, not wanting anyone to walk in on her.

As soon as she finished she reached for her dress shirt, noticing it was inside out. Gritting her teeth, she fixed the shirt in a second. Kiku had only put one arm in when she heard a gasp. She glanced up to see Ravi standing a a few feet away from her, his innocence shattered.

"WH-what..." he pointed at her with a limp finger. There was an impressive silence between them.

"...excuse me," Ravi said stiffly, and then turned to leave, walking extremely quickly. Kiku pulled her shirt on as fast as she could before chasing after him, grabbing his collar and dragging him back to the room.

"You can't tell anyone," she hissed, a begging tone in her voice.

"Y-y-yes, ma'am...SIR," Ravi stammered, he crossed his heart with his right hand, "I swear. Please don't flip me."

"I won't flip you..." Kiku stared at him, confused. Where'd he...? Oh. Lunch, right.

"That's good..."

"So, you promise?" Kiku asked.

Ravi swallowed. "I don't know why you're doing it, but yes, I promise."

Kiku let out a breath. "Thank you."

"You know, you should talk to Elizabeta," Ravi remarked as they left the locker room.

"Why?" Kiku was caught off guard by this suggestion.

"When Elizabeta first came here, they actually messed up her papers and thought she was a boy. She was paired with Roderich in the boy dorms," Ravi explained. "The two of them decided they didn't care and went about their business until the office realized."

"I see..."

"Just a suggestion, though..." Ravi glanced over, "does anyone else know?"

"Yao and Lien do and now you." she sighed, feeling awkward.

"Alright. We can keep it that way."

They rejoined the main group. Yao and Gilbert looked at them a bit strangely as they came in together, but otherwise said nothing. Ludwig said they might as well go help the other half of the group with the classrooms. Ludwig led them to where the other half was; the other group was making horrible progress. With a sigh, the weeders went to work on cleaning a classroom. Yao tagged along with Kiku on scrubbing the floors.

"Did something happen between you and Ravi, aru?" he asked, speaking quietly.

Kiku nodded. "He knows."

They managed to finish up by all working together, ending only when the bell rang.

Kiku and Yao left Service, not wanting to be stopped by anyone, and made a dash to their lockers. They agreed to meet outside the school to go grab dinner with Lien. Kiku was stopped by Alfred on her way.

"Kiku, dude! I have a question..."

"Yes?" Kiku frowned.

"Is it alright if Alyssa comes over tonight?"

"Er..." Kiku hesitated. Alyssa at her dorm? Could she really tolerate the woman for that long? Then again, she'll be out with Yao, "I guess she can. I'll be out for a while anyways."

"Oh cool! Where ya going?"

"Dinner." Kiku replied, curtly, as she sidestepped around Alfred to get to her locker.

"Oh, cool!" Alfred smiled. "Maybe we could come too."

Kiku froze and stared. "Um...would you like the food?" There wasn't a polite way to say no.

Alfred shrugged. "I think we'd be fine with anything."

What would Yao and Lien say when those two showed up? Kiku sighed, forcing a neutral expression, "Alright. We're meeting outside." she opened her locker to return her things.

"Cool! I'll get Alyssa!" Alfred grinned before racing down the hallways.

Kiku bit her lip, wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess. She rushed outside, where Yao and Lien were already waiting. She hurriedly explained the situation, and watched as their faces grew increasingly pale.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," she gasped. "I didn't mean..."

Lien sighed. "It's not your fault..."

"It's difficult to say no to Alfred," Yao added. "If things go really badly, we'll just blame him, aru."

"Blame who?"

The Asians turned around at once to see Alfred and his girlfriend walking over to them.

"Yong Soo!" Yao answered using an obvious lie, "Yes, aru."

Alfred stared at them, confused, before grinning, "Me and Alyssa are here!"

"Clearly," Lien said dryly. She turned to Yao and Kiku, ignoring the other two. "Where do you want to eat?"

"If we ate at my place, we wouldn't have to pay, but Kiku and I ate there last night, aru," Yao replied, turning his back on Alyssa.

Kiku shrugged. "I don't mind. It doesn't matter to me where we eat."

Alyssa tapped her foot. "Do we get any say in this?"

Yao wore an irritated look, "What do you have in mind, aru?"

"We should go to the King's Palace for dinner," she smirked as she pulled out her nail file.

"But that's expensive," Lien pointed out, frowning, "The one time I ate there I left with a pricey bill..."

"Aren't we from rich families?" Alyssa rolled her eyes, then focused on Kiku. "Oh wait..."

Kiku, rather than getting angry, simply gave her an emotionless stare. Eventually Alyssa reddened and turned away, fidgeting. Alfred coughed, "So the King's Palace?"

"Fine, aru." Yao replied, annoyed. He turned to Kiku, "I'll pay for you."

"What?" Kiku was surprised by the kind offer, "are you sure?"

"No problem," Yao shrugged. "Let's go."

As they walked, Alyssa and Alfred hung back. Kiku heard her hiss, "He's so creepy! He doesn't smile or get angry. How do you deal with that?"

"He's cool." Alfred whispered back, grinning, "He isn't like Arthur who gets pissy."

"But doesn't it creep you-"

"Alyssa, how's your face, aru?" Yao cut in with a cheerful smile, "it looked like it hurt with all the fuss you were making."

"It's doing better." she replied, her tongue rolling in her cheek, "neither Gilbert nor Ravi have said that they're sorry. Such losers..."

"Why would Ravi apologize?" Lien asked her. "He didn't do anything."

Alyssa flipped her hair back. "He defended Gilbert. Obviously just covering up."

"Oh look, we're here, aru!" Yao said quickly, trying to avoid any further confrontation.

Alfred and his girlfriend went in first, slamming the door in the Asians' faces. Yao rolled his eyes muttering, "Typical." and opened the door for Kiku and Lien.

The waiter led the group to a table for five. They ordered their food and sat in an awkward silence until Lien turned to Yao and Kiku, wondering how Service was.

"...dirty," Kiku said after some thought.

"Gilbert and Elizabeta had a digging contest, aru," Yao chipped in.

Alyssa grimaced as she remarked, "Uh, ew? Elizabeta might as well be a guy the way she acts." she shook her head, "I don't see why Gilbert and her become a couple already either..."

Lien stared. "The two can't stand each other."

"Whatever." she rolled her eyes then turned to face Alfred, "My Alfie did amazing in dodgeball today."

Yao frowned. "Kiku and Lien did really well."

"Yeah, but they didn't last to the end, did they?" Alyssa pulled out a pocket mirror and examined her makeup with it.

"I would have, actually, had you not had your 'accident'," Lien commented coldly."

Alyssa seethed with anger, "Speaking of..." her attention returned to Alfred who was being unusually quiet, "Al, you need to punish Gilbert and Ravi."

"Wait, what?" Alfred blinked. "Why? Look, it's wasn't cool that they threatened and hit you, but punish?"

"Alyssa, you can't-"

"Shut it, Yao," she snapped, her voice softened, "And I think my cheek is going to bruise, because of them."

"Looks fine to me," Lien muttered. Alyssa glared at her.

"Just because you don't care enough about your looks doesn't mean other people-"

"Oh look, food," Kiku interrupted swiftly, not enjoying the argument. She'd rather stay out of other people's business.

"Yaaaaay!" Alfred joined in, obviously feeling the same way Kiku did. The waiter set the food down in everyone's respective places. Alfred leaned back, "New topic. You guys know what would be fun?"

Nobody answered. Lien and Alyssa were giving each other a fixed glare. Yao was stuffing himself. And Kiku was pondering on whether or not to ask 'what?'

Yao gave a huge swallow and said, "What, aru?" taking the decision away from the Japanese.

Alfred spread his arms. "When it's winter, we should go sledding!"

"'We'?"

"Why, aru?"

"Ugh, no. It'll mess up my appearance, and I hate the cold and wet."

"I've never been sledding," Kiku mused, deep in thought. There had never been anywhere in Tokyo to do it.

The group stared at her.

"Dude, you serious?"

Kiku gave a small nod.

"Well, we'll have to change that!" Alfred announced, just now taking a bite of his food. He pointed his fork at Kiku, "You, me. Sledding. When the first snowfall of winter comes at midnight!"

"Why midnight?"

"'Cause it's fun!"

Alyssa glanced between Alfred and Kiku, her frown deepening. She angrily shoveled a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth, eyes never leaving the two of them. They ate without incident after that, and when the time came to pay the bill, Yao covered for Kiku as promised. By the time they had reached the campus, the sun had set. Yao and Lien departed from Alfred, Kiku and Alyssa, both tired and irritated by the girlfriend. Kiku glanced at the couple, hesitant to say anything when she saw Alyssa whispering into Alfred's ear.

Kiku shifted, feeling uncomfortable, waiting for Alyssa to leave. Alfred finally waved at Kiku, "You can go on ahead!"

Kiku didn't waste any time getting away from the two of them. Whatever they were whispering about, she didn't want to hear it. She slammed the door to her room and sighed, loosening her tie. This day had been exhausting, and Kiku was eager for it to be over. She changed into the T-shirt and shorts she slept in and sat down on her bed, digging her MP3 out of her bag. Sure, everyone had an iPod these days, but Kiku just couldn't afford one. She spent all her reserve funds just to obtain a laptop she could use.

She put on her headphones and turned it on, listening to the calming music to sleep. Kiku had only made it through one song when her door slammed open. She sat up in her bed, removing her headphones to greet Alfred, but instead saw the couple kissing, passionately.

Wait.

_No no no no no,_ was all that was running through Kiku's mind.

They didn't even seem to notice her, which made it even more awkward. Definitely not wanting to watch, Kiku jammed her headphones back in, cranked up the volume, and faceplanted her pillow. She didn't raise her head at all, and drifted off to sleep to avoid the confrontations staying awake would surely bring.

**AN:**

**Hatsu: Six thousand words. You guys like the long chapters, huh? And this one has a ton of Alyssa. I bet you love her. She's so pleasant, hehe. Lolo and I love making our OCs colorful.**

**Thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, and followed, as well as made use of the fun little review box at the bottom of the page.**

**Speaking of, please use it!**

**And so you walk away knowing something about my life, I beat Alice: Madness Returns today. I'm proud of myself.**

**Thank guys! See you next chapter!**


	7. Deli Date

Kiku lifted her head from her pillow, removing her headphones. The room was filled with sunlight and the crisp autumn air from the window that was left open overnight. She could've sworn that she shut it before...

Oh, right. Alyssa must have snuck out via window.

Kiku, relieved to not see Alyssa in the morning, climbed out of bed to go shut said window.

Luckily for Alyssa, there were small ledges with a ladder for a fire escape outside each window.

Alfred was still asleep, which was to be expected. It would still be a while before Arthur arrived to wake him up; Kiku showered, dressed, and left the dorm. No point in repeating what had happened the previous morning. Besides, she actually wanted to eat breakfast before school began. She went down the stairs and made her way to the cafeteria. On her way she ran into Yao who was waiting for her to come down.

"How was your night...?" Yao asked, concerned.

Kiku bit her lip, wondering how to respond. "Alfred-san and Alyssa-san came in together."

"How was that, aru?"

"I made myself sleep through it."

"They didn't..." Yao trailed off feeling awkward.

Kiku shook her head vigorously, "No, no! But... it certainly wasn't too comfortable for me."

"It must have been, aru!" He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, "let's go get some breakfast."

The two of them grabbed some food and took a table with the other Asians, the whole group tired and subdued. They weren't the only ones; the others in the cafeteria were quiet and about half of them had their heads down on the tables or propped up on their arms.

"Wow..." Kiku breathed, watching as a student's head literally fell into their cereal bowl, "Everyone's so tired..."

"The school ran out of caffeine, aru."

"Hm?" Kiku stared. How can they run out of caffeine? How does that happen?

"The vending machines are broken, apparently," Hong said, mouth opening in a huge yawn.

"And for some reason the school doesn't support selling coffee," Hyung Soo added. "If you're not a morning person, you're screwed."

Kiku nodded and leaned on her elbow. She herself was a morning person, but she was still a bit sleepy. Yong Soo and Mei didn't seem to be faring as well. Both were leaned up against each other, passed out.

Kiku had only taken a nibble of her food when the first bell rang, letting students know class was beginning in five minutes. She stood up, along with the other Asians who dragged themselves out of their seats, waved goodbye, and walked with Lien to their lockers.

"Have a good day," the Vietnamese mumbled. "Meet me here for free period."

Kiku nodded and headed off to math. Antonio made light conversation with her until Mr. Zuckerberg stumbled in, downed his coffee in a single gulp, and began to teach.

The man actually said aloud that he would avoid giving out homework if he could help it, because he knew they didn't want to do it and he didn't want to grade it, and most of their assignments would be in-class work. A lot of the students exchanged relieved glances at that. Kiku was thankful that this man was lazy. She didn't know how much homework would be passed out by her other teachers. So far, today was looking great. She was in a good mood when class ended.

Her good mood deflated when she saw Gilbert approaching her wearing a smirk. On his head perched his yellow bird; Kiku wondered why they allowed him to carry that around. Maybe because they didn't want to handle the fuss he would make over it...

"Do you need something?" she asked him. He nodded and repositioned Gilbird on his shoulder.

"I was gonna say that I talked to Ravi and Antonio and they said I was probably a huge prick yesterday," Gilbert said. "Also you were pretty damn epic when you flipped Francis. And so!"

He stuck his hand out to Kiku, who stared at it. "I am declaring an offer of friendship to you, my Japanese acquaintance! Be grateful you are receiving this straight from the great and powerful Gilbert Beilschmidt himself!"

She had to admit, she wasn't expecting this from him. Kiku almost believed that he was joking by the way he was acting.

His smirk faltered, "This is when you say ' I accept your offer, oh great and powerful one!' and we shake hands..."

"...Alright." She finally had him off her back. Kiku reached for his hand and they shook.

Gilbert cheered and grabbed her arm, steering her to the psychology classroom. "Alright, let's get this bitch over with."

"That reminds me," Kiku said, frowning. "Gilbert-san, why are you taking psychology? It's rude of me to say, but you don't seem the type."

"Not rude at all, bro." The German plopped down in his seat and reclined back. "I'm taking it so I can fuck with people."

"That didn't exactly answer my question."

"This is what I mean. Psychology is like the study of peoples' minds, right?"

"I suppose, if you want to put it that way." Kiku blinked, wondering where this was going.

"Right!" Gilbert grinned. "So if I can read what people are thinking, by studying this shit, then trolling is that much easier!"

Kiku was beginning to see the reason this boy was held back for a year.

"That's...clever of you," Kiku stumbled over her words. What else could she say to that?

"I know, I'm a genius, but the school can't see that," Gilbert shrugged, "guess only some people can see my awesomeness."

He said this with such certainty and confidence that he almost convinced Kiku herself.

"Gilbert! Are you bothering Kiku again?" Mrs. Skybond asked as she entered the classroom.

"Nooo," he called, slinging an arm over the girl's shoulder. "I'm friends with him!"

Mrs. Skybond blinked, looking between the confident Gilbert and Kiku, who was slightly uncomfortable because of close he was. "Oh...alright then.

"I'm really not bothering you, am I?" Gilbert muttered to her when the teacher turned her back. He looked genuinely concerned about this, and Kiku had to smile.

"No, you aren't. Do not worry about it."

"Okay, cool..." Gilbert removed his arm, "you're rooming with Al right?"

"Yes, why?" didn't he already ask this yesterday?

"Gilbert, Kiku, is there anything you'd like to share with the class?" Mrs. Skybond was tapping her foot, arms crossed.

"No, ma'am." Kiku's cheeks flushed with pink. She didn't like the attention on her. Not many people do.

They sat in silence the remainder of the class. It was actually enjoyable this time around, now that Gilbert wasn't spitting paper at her every few minutes. To everybody's annoyance, the teacher did assign homework and when the bell rang, everyone filed out grumbling.

"What the hell?" Gilbert groaned. "It's only the second day of school!"

"Well, psychology is supposed to be a difficult class," Kiku replied. "I imagine when you sign up, you have to be prepared to do a lot of work."

"I guess." Gilbert sighed. "Hey, earlier I was gonna ask. Since you're rooming with Al, do you know if he's still pissed about yesterday?"

Kiku thought back to dinner the previous night, and Alyssa's comment that they needed to 'punish' Gilbert and Ravi. Alfred had been uncertain about it, but Kiku still couldn't say for sure. She told Gilbert this and the albino sighed heavily, running his hand through his pale hair.

"So that crazy girl's gunning for me, huh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Alfred's a great guy and all, but he's such a sucker..."

Kiku nodded, humming in agreement. Alyssa has complete control over him, like a puppet master.

"Can you tell me if you hear anything new? 'Cause this chick is insane. She's convinced him to do so much shit..." His tone had become bitter.

"Yes, I can." Kiku replied. "Gilbert-san, we need to get to our next class..."

"Oh. Right."

Gilbert grabbed her hand and scribbled a number on it. "Text me later, dude! That way I'll have your number!"

Kiku nodded. Her cell phone currently resided in a side pocket of her suitcase, shoved under her bed.

_Guess I'll have to revive it_, she thought. It probably needed charged, and odds were that Mai probably wanted to get ahold of her and see how she was doing.

Her next class, World Cultures, was uneventful. Her roommate hadn't shown up and the teacher didn't seem surprised by this, rolling his eyes when someone told him Al was gone. Kiku herself was curious on what Alfred could be doing. She decided to push that out of her mind and focus on her class. It passed uneventfully, and eventually-about halfway through-Alfred stumbled in looking as though he had just climbed out of bed. Mr. Foucar sighed and told the American to take his seat.

When Alfred sat down, he looked at Kiku and mouthed "Arthur didn't show up."

Kiku's eyes widened in awe. How does he sleep in that long?! How late was he up? She sighed, making a mental note to talk to Arthur later. Having to deal with this for nine months does not sound fun.

As soon as the bell rang, Alfred jumped from his seat and hurried up to Kiku, "Dude, Arthur is being an ass—again." He frowned, "he's an ass most if the time..."

"Do you know why he didn't show up?"

Alfred frowned, deep in thought. "I didn't do anything. But during our free period yesterday, Alyssa said something about his eyebrows. I didn't hear it that well but he seemed pretty pissed."

_Ah. That would do it._

She couldn't help but wonder how they became a couple.

"You should apologize to him," Kiku told the American as they left the classroom.

"Huh? Why?!"

"Because..." she bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something rude. She exhaled a long breath, "because Alyssa-san hurt his feelings..."

"She didn't do it on purpose!" Alfred protested as they walked to English. "She was just making a comment."

"Even so," Kiku countered. "It made Arthur-san angry, and now he's not talking to you, right?"

Alfred seemed to deflate. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll have to do it when we get to class, huh?"

"If you want."

He puffed out his chest. "No, it has to be then, because if Artie's pissed at me I can't bribe him to do my homework."

Kiku arched a questioning eyebrow at the American before shaking her head and taking a seat at her desk. Alfred, however, did not and marched up to Arthur who was sorting papers before class began.

"Arthur, look, man I—"

"If this is about me not waking you up this morning then shut up and leave." the Brit replied without glancing up.

"Heh. Nope. I just wanna say that I'm sorry that Alyssa was kind of a jerk yesterday."

"…" Arthur's jaw had dropped.

Kiku ducked her head to hide her amused smile. This was clearly not a common occurrence.

"You...you're actually apologizing?" Arthur stammered, gaping at Alfred in shock.

"Well, yeah, you seemed pretty upset and all..."

"You really are apologizing." The Brit was legitimately stunned.

"Yep, so I'm really sorry about yesterday, man."

"Wow," was all that Arthur said in reply. He quickly added, "I mean, it's alright, I suppose. I just didn't expect you to apologize. You of all people!"

"And I suppose I need to get your arse out of bed tomorrow..."

"Right!"

Arthur sighed as the bell rang, and Alfred sat beside Kiku looking satisfied.

After the apology, Arthur was unusually upbeat. Who could blame him? Alfred went through English without questioning the teacher and Kiku wished that this was her first day. Unlike yesterday, classes were normal and swell.

The teacher walked in and began class, glancing at the chipper Arthur with a slightly confused expression. "Alright," Mrs. Weiss said, turning her back on her assistant. "Yesterday, Mr. Jones asked a good question."

Alfred, along with the rest of the class, looked around in bewilderment. "I did?"

"Yes. You asked what the point of taking an English class was when everyone here already speaks English fluently."

"Oh." Alfred blinked. "Yeah, what is the point?"

Mrs. Weiss' glasses flashed. "How many of you here do not speak English as your first language?"

Looking around, Kiku noticed about half the class was raising their hands, including herself. She knew Hetalia W. Academy had a wide variety of international cultures, but it was shocking when one was faced with just how many.

"You see, Mr. Jones, you had a good question, and now you have the answer. Quite a few people at this school, though they speak English, could use some improvement." She eyed the American critically. "And some of our other students could use improvement as well."

Behind her, Arthur covered his smirk with his hand. Apparently not having an answer to that, Alfred just nodded dumbly. They spent the rest of the class looking at the in-depth curriculum, and like Kiku's previous class, homework was assigned. She didn't really mind, though she figured that she would have to take Arthur up on the 'help' offer. When the bell rang, Alfred waved Kiku on ahead and walked out with the Brit.

Kiku ran into Binh and Yong Soo and headed to the roof for lunch with the others, who trickled in one by one and piled their food in the middle of the circle.

"Everyone having a good day?" Mei asked. The rest of the Asians seemed to have woken up by now, thankfully.

"Bit slow to start, aru, but pretty good so far," Yao answered.

"Nobody's been picked on yet?" Everyone looked up at Lien's question.

"Picked on?" Kiku's eyes widened.

"Our group seems to be a bit of a bully magnet," Hong explained. "We've had problems with it in the past."

"It hasn't been very bad, but we've had our things get stolen and people saying bad things, da ze." Yong Soo took a long drink from his bottled water. "Not so much to Hyung, though. He's scary. People leave him alone."

"Shut up!"

His brother laughed. "You see?"

"Why does it happen though?" Kiku asked. "Haven't you reported it?" Even as the words left her mouth she felt stupid. In Japan, hardly anybody reported bullying. It was a matter of pride and nobody wanted to be a snitch. It just ended up getting worse. A few people in her classes had switched schools rather than just take care of the problem. Odds are, that's how this group felt about their situation.

"It might be because we're the only Asians here," Lien pondered. "I never really thought about it that much, just sort of dealt with it."

"All of us? We're the only ones?"

"Believe it or not."

They seemed to drop the subject after that, and spent the rest of the hour chatting casually about their classes. About halfway through it occurred to Kiku there was probably a reason why they all sat up on the roof, away from the rest of the student body. Suddenly, she felt very touched that they had included her, but she didn't say that out loud.

When the bell rang for fifth period, Yao, Kiku, and Yong Soo waved goodbye to their friends and headed off to the locker room. Thankfully, Yong Soo got the message and promised to keep his hands off of the Japanese girl's immediate person from that time on.

In P.E., they were playing dodgeball again. Alyssa was there, but she gave a slip of paper to Mr. Lopez and sat on the sidelines the entire class, smirking. After a while, a few girls who could only be her friends sat down with her, and they spent the period gossiping and giggling. Kiku was on the opposite side of Alfred this time, and got out almost immediately. She sat down near Alyssa's group, and that proved to be a mistake. They glanced at her constantly and whispered among themselves. She wasn't close enough to catch what they were saying, but was immensely relieved when Yao was knocked out of the game and pulled her off to another section of the field.

"Lien's kicking ass again, aru," he grinned, pointing over to where the Vietnamese girl was dual-wielding two balls and tossed them both at the same time.

"She's very good at sports," Kiku commented. "Is she on any teams?"

"Track and field," Yao answered. "The season just hasn't started yet, aru. Mei does gymnastics, and I'm amazed every time I watch her, aru."

"What about the others?"

According to Yao, they each had their own activity that they pursued. Yong Soo loved theatre, Hyung Soo did archery, Hong was artistic, and Binh was active in the writing department. He asked what Kiku liked to do, and laughed when she thought very hard and came up with "…video games," as her answer. "You're a strange girl," he said softly, so only she could hear.

Their conversation ended when somebody—it seemed suspiciously like Ravi—accidentally kicked a ball into Alyssa's group of friends, causing them to squeal and scatter. Fortunately, nothing came of the incident, and nobody went to the nurse.

Lien took Kiku to the snack bar for their free period again after P.E., and the two sat and did the homework they were assigned. Between the two of them, the work went by quickly and they were able to spend the end of the period eating until the bell rang for the last class of the day.

During Service, Gilbert dragged her over to his circle of friends and introduced her formally to Matthias. Ravi actually turned red when she got close, and stammered when he said hello. It seemed Gilbert wasn't the only one who had someone to keep an eye on him in that class; Matthias appeared to be shadowed by a small, quiet blonde named Lukas who verbally shot down pretty much anything the Dane said. Lukas nodded politely to Kiku when she was introduced, and said, "Babysitting Jones?"

Kiku shook her head. "No, we're just roommates."

"Hm," Lukas hummed. "Too bad. He needs it."

Alfred, for the most part, completely ignored Gilbert and Ravi and instead hung around some people Kiku had never seen before. The German occasionally tried to catch his eye, but Alfred stubbornly kept his back facing him.

"Ass," Gilbert muttered. "I'm trying to talk to you."

"He'll come around," Ravi said uncertainly. "He never stays angry for long."

In spite of his friend attempting to comfort him, Gilbert remained distressed. He turned to Kiku, looking desperate. "Can you talk to him? He listens to you!"

Kiku promised to try, though she didn't see Alfred changing his stance just because of him. Yao came in to class late, and they all worked in silence as they straightened up empty classrooms. She headed up to her dorm room after the final bell rang, feeling in the mood to be by herself. She had given her cell phone number (it had taken a while to remember) to Yao and Lien, so they could text her whenever they wanted to go eat.

Once in her room, Kiku grabbed out her laptop that she had spent six months saving up for and switched in on. Thankfully, the school provided free internet usage, so Kiku was able to scroll through some websites searching for games she wanted. Her browsing was interrupted by Alfred suddenly crashing through the door, talking loudly on his phone.

"Yeah baby, I'm not mad! Go do that thing you have to…" He trailed off when he saw Kiku, and the two of them spent an awkward moment staring at each other. "Okay, Aly, I get it. Talk to you later. Bye."

Alfred snapped his phone shut and collapsed onto his bed with a loud groan.

"Is something wrong?" Kiku asked warily. Did she really want to know?

"Alyssa's gotten into some trouble with her parents," Alfred explained. "She had to go home for a little bit tonight."

"Does she live in this city?" Alfred nodded in confirmation.

"This kind of happens a lot," he said. "She always complains that we don't spend enough time together, but it's kind of hard when she's grounded all the time."

Kiku stared. Was she actually hearing her roommate say something negative about his girlfriend? "So what are you doing here?" she asked instead. "You have other friends, right?"

The American stared at the ceiling dejectedly. "Yeah, I guess. But I was bored…" He sat up and looked at Kiku. "You know, I bet you never get in trouble with your parents. You seem like the perfect child type. Bet your mom loves it, huh?"

Kiku's chest tightened and she had to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. _It's not his fault,_ she told herself. _He doesn't know…_ She had done a good job of getting over her parents' deaths, but sometimes sudden reminders knocked her off balance. Three years wasn't very long, after all. Well, it was probably best to get it over with, so Alfred did know.

"My parents died three years ago," she said quietly.

Alfred froze, a look of horror on his face. "U-um…" he stammered, looking anywhere but her. "Aw, shit. I'm really sorry, dude. That was stupid of me to say just now."

Kiku shook her head. "It's not like you knew."

"W-well, right but…" Alfred's breath left in a huff. "You don't look like you're angsting over it. That's cool. I get upset about little things, like once when my favorite deli closed. I don't think I could handle something big like that."

Kiku didn't say anything, and the tension in the room was unbearably thick. Feeling the need to diffuse it, she grabbed onto the first subject change she could think of. "What is a deli?"

Suddenly Alfred lurched to his feet, pointing at her and demanding, "You don't mean that, right? You know what a deli is, right?"

Relieved the subject change worked, Kiku shook her head. Alfred grabbed her arm and jerked her off the bed, pulling her out the door.

"A-Alfred-san?! What are you doing?"

"We're going to a deli," he said forcefully. "I will not room with someone who doesn't understand that kind of greatness." He broke into a flat-out run, Kiku following behind him down the stairs and out the dorm door, sprinting across campus.

"I cannot run this fast," Kiku gasped, faltering as she grabbed her side in pain. Alfred turned around and before she knew it, Kiku was being carried like a football under his arm all the way across the street and down three blocks.

Alfred stopped in front of a small building, not even looking winded as he set a shell-shocked Kiku on her feet. "This is a deli," he said, pointing through the front doors. "Come on, let's go eat." Not wanting to be carried again, Kiku figured it was in her best interests to follow him in and sit down. Alfred seemed to be friendly with the workers, as he called a few by name as he led her to a table.

"So a deli sells like sandwiches and things," he explained to her. "It's good!"

"I believe you," Kiku said. "But was this really necessary? You could have just explained it to me, Alfred-san."

The American shook his head. "No. You have to see for yourself."

They ate sandwiches for a while, and Kiku did have to admit they were very good, and she said so. Alfred beamed with pride.

"It's good you like it," he said. "I don't know what I would do if you didn't. Alyssa doesn't like this kind of food. Says it has carbs."

Kiku swallowed and hesitated, wondering what to say. Eventually, she asked "Alfred-san, may I ask what you like about her?"

Alfred looked surprised at the question, and he seemed to put actual thought into it. "She's pretty, and she makes me laugh, and…" He began to look sheepish. "You know all the things I say about being a hero, and all that?"

Kiku nodded, confused as to where this was going.

Eyes downcast, Alfred continued, "Well, everybody just laughs that off. But Alyssa…she can't do much by herself. She needs me to do it. I guess what I'm saying is, I like being able to be her hero. It makes me feel good, I think."

_Everything makes so much sense now_, Kiku thought to herself. Out loud, she said, "Gilbert-san really didn't do anything on purpose. It was an accident, what happened in class yesterday."

Alfred looked up at her. "Huh? But Alyssa said—"

"Alyssa-san was mistaken," Kiku said firmly. "It was chaotic on the field. There was no way she could have seen him. And I saw Gilbert-san and Ravi-san talking before class started. They were talking about Elizabeta, not Alyssa-san."

Her roommate swallowed nervously. "Well, if you put it like that…"

"If you talked to Gilbert-san, he would say the same thing," Kiku said, gentler now. "He is upset you're ignoring him."

Alfred sighed. "Okay, I guess so. Hey, are you done eating? Should we go?"

"Yes, I'm finished." Kiku was surprised that she had gotten him to listen and agree so quickly. As they headed back to campus, she thought about what Gilbert had said about Alfred listening to her. Maybe that comment had more substance than she had thought, and Kiku just didn't notice.

And based on the recent conversation she had with the American, maybe Alfred wasn't as bad as she had previously thought also.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: Doooone. I'm tired. Lolo left today for this camp thing, for a week, and left me all alone. What am I supposed to do with my life for the next week I don't even. Le sighs. Now I have nobody to talk to. Anyway, for the next week any chapters written will be by me exclusively, so they probably won't be as long as previous ones, because I'm lazy and I don't have a lovely Lolo to help me.**

**Also WHERE DID ALL THESE REVIEWS COME FROM THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. LOLO AND I LOVE YOU. THANKS FOR THE FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS, TOO.**

**Alright, please keep reviewing! The more you guys review, the faster the updates come!**


	8. Threats

The rest of the first week of school passed ordinarily. Kiku was assigned homework in most of her classes, which she was able to finish during her free period and right after school. She was grateful for that, though Alfred didn't seem so lucky. Her roommate was typically up late every night trying to finish one assignment or another, having spent most of his free time with his girlfriend. Alyssa had become increasingly demanding of her boyfriend, and Alfred usually didn't get any schoolwork done until after curfew. Feeling sorry for him, Kiku would sometimes stay up and help him finish; only going to bed past midnight. This led to Alfred sleeping harder, and Arthur mercilessly losing his temper every morning. Kiku beat a hasty retreat as soon as she was finished getting ready to avoid listening to the Brit's loud yells and lectures.

She got her first email from Mai Sato on her fourth day of school. The landlady seemed cheerful enough, telling her about how things were going back in Japan. Kiku also got mail from her friends from school, which made her smile. She had bonded with her two best friends, twin sisters Yuri and Ayame, over how they all had flower names back when they first started middle school. The two were very energetic, and Kiku sometimes felt she was babysitting them, but in her mind the three of them couldn't be closer. She felt a stab of guilt as she remembered she hadn't even told them about her plan to get into school.

On Friday afternoon, the beginning of the first weekend of the school year, Kiku sat in her room with her laptop on her knees, wondering how to reply to her friends and guardian. They all wanted to know about her classes, the school, and all the people she had met. There was so much to tell, yet she had to be careful about talking about her roommate. Saying she was rooming with a man would be a dead giveaway.

Kiku sighed and pulled out her cell phone, texting Lien's number with the request to name the Vietnamese girl as her roommate. She had finally gotten the hang of the stupid thing and while she was still slow with it, she found it was more useful than she had originally thought. Gilbert messaged her almost every hour, seemingly having an endless arsenal of topics he needed her opinion on.

Lien replied back within a few minutes, giving her approval. Kiku thanked her and returned to wording her email. Alfred had taken to looking over her shoulder when he saw her on her laptop, so Kiku made sure everything incriminating was written in Japanese. Alfred would lean over the screen, stare for a moment, and then turn away silently.

After about half an hour of replying to Mai and the twins, Kiku closed her laptop and rubbed her eyes. Alfred was out with Alyssa at the moment, but even with him gone Kiku was feeling cramped in the room. Most of the students had left campus, already pursuing their weekend activities, and the Japanese girl somewhat felt like doing the same. She used to spend her weekends working her job, but as she didn't have one here Kiku needed to find something else to do. She hadn't brought any manga or games with her from Japan, but she _did_ have a debit card that linked to her savings account…

Kiku jumped off her bed and pulled on a hoodie. The weather the past few days had been cloudy and cool, with light showers, and she wanted to be prepared in case she got rained on. A day or two ago, she had asked Yao if there were any good shopping areas near campus and, reading her intentions with deadly accuracy, the Chinese had told Kiku where to find game and comic stores. Following a map he had drawn up for her, Kiku left the school grounds and headed into the city, scanning all the buildings. She hadn't left the academy by herself before, and was slightly nervous, but at the same time Kiku had confidence in Yao's ability to tell instructions.

After walking a few blocks, Kiku was able to see the shopping area Yao had directed her to. The sign of the game store was bright and neon, clashing with those around it and making itself easy to spot. She entered the store and looked around, feeling her excitement rise. When Kiku really got into a game, the results could be seen as…unhealthy. During Final Fantasy XIII, Kiku played for forty-eight straight hours living only on instant ramen and tap water. She hadn't turned her lights on once all weekend or changed out of the pajamas she wore to bed. Mai had assumed she spent the weekend at Yuri and Ayame's and was shocked when the girl stumbled out of her apartment when the school week started, looking like a corpse.

_I probably shouldn't do that again,_ Kiku thought to herself. Even so, she figured she probably couldn't last nine months away from home without something to play. Alfred had brought practically every gaming platform imaginable to school with him, and told Kiku he was more than happy to let her use them as long as she lent him some of her games. She took a deep breath and examined the shelves, the card in her pocket seeming to weigh a ton.

_Don't go crazy,_ Kiku snapped to herself. _You are calm, mature, and you did not come to this city to play games._

Even so, there was nothing wrong with splurging just once, right?

Especially when she discovered a back room to the store, hardly inhabited and filled to the brim with old-school games for platforms such as the original PlayStation, original Nintendo, Game Cube, and others. Kiku eventually left the store weighed down by ten-plus games, and she still wanted to buy some manga as well. Coincidentally, there was a bookstore down the street that specialized in comics and the like, and the girl was able to stock up on what she wanted as well.

Rain was beginning to fall as Kiku made her way back to campus. The sky and grew darker and she was thankful she had thought ahead as her hoodie made itself useful. Alfred was back when she finally pushed the door to the dorm room open, his eyes widening as she dropped her shopping bags onto her bed with a groan.

"Dude, this is what you've been doing?" Alfred's eyes sparkled as he grinned broadly, jumping up to rifle through the large pile of games that had spilled out. "This is awesome! You have to let me play some, okay?"

Kiku nodded. "Of course you may. You're kind enough to let me use your consoles, so it would be unfair otherwise."

Alfred examined the game cases. "Raymond, Zelda: Skyward Sword, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and Dragon Age, Alice: Madness Returns…" As Kiku stared blankly, he swallowed as he looked at the last one. "What's wrong with that cat…?"

The American shook himself and put the case down, reaching for others. "You got some really old ones too, how come?"

The Japanese girl shrugged. "Just because they are old doesn't mean they aren't good. I want to play them regardless, and they were cheap in any case."

Alfred picked up a battered copy of Suikoden II. "This looks good. Have you played it?"

Kiku shook her head. "Apparently there are five games in the series, as well as some spinoffs, but I have only played the third and fourth."

"Whatever. Maybe I'll get to it." Alfred grabbed Dragon Age and switched on the PlayStation 3. After waiting for the game in install, something seemed to occur to him and he whirled around looking panicked, startling his roommate.

"Alfred-san? Is something wrong?"

"I totally just stole this from you!" he exclaimed. "That was so not cool! I'm sorry!"

Kiku blinked. She hadn't expected this, and had been deciding which two different manga volumes to read. "I don't mind. It didn't bother me."

"You sure?" Alfred was sending her the puppy eyes, desperately wanting to make sure he hadn't offended her. Kiku had to slap herself mentally when the thought crossed her mind that he looked somewhat adorable.

_Where did_ that _come from?_ She wondered, confused. Out loud she said, "I'm sure. You may play as long as you want."

Still looking unsure, Alfred nodded and turned back to the television screen. Kiku watched as he made a character that resembled him almost exactly, and named him Alfred F. Jones.

"Alfred-san," Kiku began curiously, "what does the F in your name stand for?" In Japanese, it was very rare that anyone would have three names. They just had two, a surname and a given name.

"It stands for 'Fuck yeah!'" Alfred turned around and grinned at her, snickering. Kiku just stared. "Okay, for real it stands for Foster. After my dad."

"Alfred Foster Jones," Kiku said aloud. It did have a sort of alliterative appeal when it was all put together.

Alfred grimaced. "I don't like it. It sounds old."

"I like it," Kiku said quietly, then immediately felt embarrassed. Alfred looked at her a bit strangely before turning back to his game. The two sat in silence for the next two hours, Alfred often needing help with whatever it was he was doing and Kiku providing assistance.

A knock came on the door, endless and demanding. Kiku stood to answer it and found herself face to face with Alyssa, who looked immensely irritated. The blonde girl pushed Kiku out of the way, making a beeline straight for Alfred and wrapping her arms around her neck. Alfred jumped a few inches, surprised, then turned around and relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Alfie! We have a date today, remember? I texted you!" Alyssa stuck out her lower lip, frowning at her boyfriend. Alfred looked guilty and checked his phone.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "I'm so, so sorry Aly. Kiku bought all these games and I got distracted…"

Faced with Alyssa's death glare, Kiku simultaneously wanted to bolt out the door and smack Alfred upside the head for bringing her name into this.

"Oh, I see," Alyssa flipped her hair, sickly sweet. "This is _Kiku's_ fault."

Said Japanese reached for the door handle.

Alfred looked uncomfortable. "No, it's not his fault. He just bought a bunch of games and I got distracted, that's all."

"Whatever. Why don't you go get ready, I'll wait."

He nodded and stood to go to the bathroom. When they were alone, Alyssa turned and faced Kiku, a foreboding look in her eyes.

"I-I'll just leave now," Kiku stammered, desperate to escape to Yao's room, or Lien's, or anywhere but there.

"What are you playing at?" Alyssa hissed, ignoring her.

"W-what do you mean?"

Alyssa's hands curled into fists. "You know damn well what I mean! Stop trying to make him like you, it won't work! Alfred is mine, okay?!"

Kiku stared. "You think…I'm trying to make him like me?" She almost laughed out loud. That was what Alyssa was worried about?

"Of course that's what you're doing!" Alyssa's face was turning red. "You help with his homework, you buy all this crap," she gestured furiously to the large pile of video games on Kiku's bed, "to make him happy, and…" Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I heard about the _deli_, you know."

Kiku paled slightly. She hadn't thought about that day much at all, but if there was any person she didn't want to be told about it, it was Alyssa. "Nothing happened," she said, raising her head defiantly. "You are basing your conclusions on evidence you don't have. Alfred-san likes you quite a lot, I know that, and it has never been my intention to make him like myself or anyone else." Alyssa assuming that the male Kiku Honda was gay was laughable. Kiku couldn't remember showing interest in any person, male or female, for the week she had been at H. W. Academy.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Yeah right." She leaned in close. "Don't even think of doing anything with _my _Alfie. If I _think_ you're getting close to him or anything like that_, I will end you."_

Kiku didn't doubt it. Alyssa was a nasty piece of work, after all. She nodded. When Alfred came out of the bathroom, she said a hurried goodbye and retreated quickly out the door, rushing up to Yao's room.

Alyssa scared her.

**A/N:**

**This chapter is short and boring and it's because I don't have a Lolo. Guuuuuys I miss Lolo. She's not coming back till Saturday afternoon (it's Thursday right now and all). Le sigh. Anyway, I'll try to hammer out another chapter before she comes back, but at the moment I'm at a bit of a creative dead end. Hence this chapter… But don't worry! Some BIG SHIT is gonna go down in the future.**

**Oh yeah. Some of you were wondering if this is a pairing story. Yeah, it's Ameripan. Right now, Kiku thinks of her roommate as somewhat obnoxious and irritating, but it's getting better. These things take some time and we do have the story we want to tell.**

**ALMOST FIFTY REVIEWS. I DON'T EVEN. You people are so lovely.**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	9. Awkward Moments

Kiku spent the next month essentially avoiding Alfred and his girlfriend. Alyssa for obvious reasons, and Alfred because Kiku honestly did not doubt the sincerity of Alyssa's threats. She didn't want to push her limits. Instead, she spent all her time with the Asian group. Over the month she spent with her friends, Kiku noticed that Mei was going out of her way to sit next to her. At first, Kiku didn't think much of it, but when she saw the young girl blush when she complimented her gymnastics, Kiku became suspicious. She hoped she was imagining things. Kiku would hate to let her friend down, when the whole group had gone out of their way to make her feel included. Having never had to deal with this situation, Kiku found herself pretending she just didn't notice.

Pretending to not notice was getting harder when Mei discovered where Kiku's locker was and began to wait for the Japanese girl after school. On this particular day, Yao was waiting with the youth, just now noticing the crush Mei developed. Kiku opened her locker, greeting them as she put away her unwanted things then taking her homework for the night.

"Kiku, you should cut your hair, aru," Yao remarked with deep concern. Kiku's hair was growing longer and was complimenting her feminine features. Kiku opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Mei.

"Says the guy with the ponytail," Mei snorted at the one she called 'teacher,' "I think your hair looks fine, Kiku."

Kiku fingered a lock of her hair. "I would like to cut it. Long hair has bothered me."

That was a dead lie of course; Kiku used to love her long hair, and she did miss it, but what else could she say?

Mei gave a nod of approval, "You would look great after a haircut."

Yao narrowed his eyes at the girl and asked, "I thought you liked him with that hair length, aru?"

"Kiku would look cute with either haircut, teacher," Mei emphasized the last word, sending a glare in Yao's direction.

Kiku swallowed and closed her locker, feeling apprehensive. "I need to do some homework," she said. "I'm sorry, I have to leave."

"I'll walk with you," Yao volunteered. "Mei, you have gymnastics, right, aru?"

Giving her cousin a disgruntled look, Mei nodded and turned to leave, sending Kiku a wave and a bright smile. Once she was gone, Kiku leaned heavily against her locker and sighed.

"What're you going to do, aru?" Yao adjusted his backpack on his shoulders.

"I have no idea," Kiku shook her head as she started to follow Yao out of the school. She fiddled with her long bangs, "I really do need a trim, don't I?"

"A bit, yes," Yao answered. "I can do it for you later if you want, aru. But you changed the subject."

Kiku sank to the floor. "I know. This whole thing is so sudden. I don't want to hurt Mei-chan's feelings."

Her friend sat down next to her. "I know. But let's look at the upsides, aru." He grinned, "If you take Mei out on just one date, it'll reinforce your 'male' image, aru."

The Japanese girl let out a breath that blew her bangs upward. "That is true, but it will be immeasurably awkward for me."

Yao snapped his fingers. "Then be awkward. The whole time. Maybe it'll turn her off a bit."

Kiku glanced over at him, "How do I do that?"

"Be rude!" Yao replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"But I can't do that!" Kiku protested, now staring at the Chinese man in shock.

"Then I guess you'll become Mei's first boy-"

"Okay!" Kiku shouted, loud enough for everyone walking by in the halls to glance over. She lowered her voice, "I'll ask her out..."

"That's the Kiku I know!" Yao gave her a pat on the back.

Kiku cracked a smile. He was such a supportive friend. She couldn't imagine life at Hetalia W. Academy without him. She turned around swiftly when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Hello, Lien-chan," Kiku greeted while eyeing the bag that Lien was holding. The Vietnamese passed the bag over murmuring that it was enough to last her a while. When Yao asked what was in the bag, Kiku's cheeks turned red. "I-it's nothing..." she muttered. "Just some things I need."

Yao seemed to catch on then, his face draining of color as he started spluttering. Lien, for her part, remained completely straight-faced. After a beat of silence, Yao finally said, "We should... head back to our dorms."

"Yes." Kiku gave a quick nod then waved goodbye to Lien with a thank you.

They walked back in silence before Yao coughed and said, "Has anybody been bothering you lately?"

Kiku shook her head. "Everyone seems to leave me alone. Nobody..." It suddenly occurred to her. Nobody, outside of Gilbert and his friends as well as the Asians, paid her any attention. They stopped staring, and they never spoke a single word to her. Sure, Alyssa's group might send her a few glares every so often, but Kiku couldn't remember ever having been so isolated.

"No," she began again. "Nothing's happened at all."

If she thought about it a certain way, Kiku figured this might work to her advantage. In the event she were to be found out, nobody would be the wiser. Odds were, she'd go completely ignored just as usual.

Hopefully.

"That's great!" Yao grinned at her as they approached Kiku's dorm room, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, aru!"

""Alright," Kiku waved to him, "Goodbye!"

She wasn't expecting Alfred to be in the room when she got there, but that's exactly where he was. Kiku froze the moment she saw him and almost turned to leave before he jumped off his bed and hurried toward her, looking put out.

"Kiku!" She cursed mentally. Why did his sad voice have so sound so...

Kiku banished the thought immediately.

"Yes?"

"Have you been avoiding me?"

"What?" Kiku averted her eyes as she shuffled over to her dresser to put away her things.

"You've been kinda avoiding me..." Kiku slammed her drawer shut and turned around to be only inches away from Alfred's face. She quickly backed into the dresser, trying to get some space.

Alfred continued, "I miss hanging out with you, you're cool!"

"Could you please move back a bit?" Kiku asked quietly, uncomfortable despite being about a foot shorter than her roommate. The fact that she very much wanted to stay away from him did not help at all.

Alfred stuck out his lower lip. "Not until you tell me what's up!"

"I... can't." Kiku muttered, trying to push passed him. She felt her foot catch his and she found herself grasping for something to keep her balance. Unfortunately, that something was Alfred and the two went down together. Kiku's head knocked hard against the floor, and though the carpet softened the blow she saw stars swirling in her vision. Kiku shuddered to try and get a handle on herself, and when she did, she noticed the position she and Alfred had landed.

Kiku was sprawled face-up on the floor, with her hand on Alfred's chest. The latter had ended up pinning her there, his hands gripping her wrists from a failed attempt at balancing her. Their bodies were too close to comfort, their faces nearly touching.

Kiku shut her eyes as a light pink filled her cheeks, "Alfred-san?"

There was silence. She could feel his warm breath on her face and seconds suddenly felt like minutes. She wriggled her hands to try to break free from his... strong... grip. She repeated again, "Alfred-san?"

"Yeah?" he said a bit breathlessly. All he did was fall, but even he seemed winded.

"...would you mind possibly getting off me?" Kiku could barely get the words out, she was stammering so badly.

"Um. Yeah."

Alfred scrambled to his feet, helping Kiku up as well. He coughed to break the tension, "So, uh... why are you avoiding me?"

"I apologize. I have been rude..." Kiku gave the American a bow. She then told the man a flat-out lie, "I wanted you and Alyssa-san to have as much time together as you can..."

Alfred blinked. "Is...That it?"

Kiku nodded stiffly, and then was startled when the American suddenly looked frustrated. "See, I don't believe that!"

"What?"

Alfred gave her a look. "Dude, you hung out with me the whole week of school with no problem when Aly was around. Then all of a sudden you stopped. Come on, I'm not that stupid. Did something happen? You can be honest."

"I don't feel entirely comfortable around her," Kiku locked eye contact with American who was watching her with an arched eyebrow.

"You don't?" Alfred stared.

"No, I don't."

"A lot of people don't," he mumbled, "but she's a really amazing person when you get to know her..."

"I don't doubt that," Kiku answered, crossing her fingers behind her back. "But she doesn't allow others the chance. She judges too quickly."

Alfred scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know anything about that, but I guess you could be right."

Kiku swallowed. "And...I think she doesn't appreciate it when we're around each other."

That caught the blonde's attention. "Huh? The two of us, you mean?"

"Yes..."Kiku shifted her weight as she repeated, "the two of us." she felt her heartbeat quicken. She frowned. _What's happening to me?  
_  
"That's weird," Alfred commented, arms crossed, "You sure?"

"Very."

"Did she tell you this?"

"...Yes."

"That's not cool!" Kiku raised her eyes at Alfred's sudden outburst. "Look, I really like Aly and all that, but she doesn't get to decide who I hang out with."

"I...you believe me?" Kiku bit her lip.

"Yeah! She's done it before." Alfred gave the woman a hard stare, "did she say anything else to you, Kiku?"

"Alfred-san, please..."

"No! Listen!" Alfred leaned forward and gripped her shoulders. Kiku flinched from the sudden contact. "Listen," he said again, calmer this time. "It's not fair to you that Alyssa says things like that. She shouldn't, and you don't deserve it."

That might have been the most intelligent thing Kiku had heard come out of her roommate's mouth thus far.

"...thank you," Kiku whispered after a moment of silence. She raised her voice, "Please, don't tell her I told you."

"What?! Why?" Alfred snapped, I need to talk to her if she's being mean to you."

"Don't."

"How come?!"

Kiku raised her head and looked directly into his eyes. "I don't want to bring attention to myself. I have never liked that. You say you want to be my friend, so would you please respect my wishes?"

Alfred clenched his jaw, giving her a fixed frown. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry... I can get a bit ahead of myself... We okay?"

"Yes."

"Great!" Alfred perked up immediately and continued, "So I was thinking... do you have a girlfriend yet?"

Kiku choked on her saliva, "What?!"

"Or a boyfriend. 'Cause I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with Aly and me tonight... y'know, it'll help Alyssa warm up to you and all..."

"No. I do not have a girlfriend."

"Aw, come on!" Alfred punched her shoulder playfully. Kiku winced. "There has to be some lucky girl out there."

"There is no one I can think of." Kiku replied, rubbing her shoulder.

"Hey! I heard that chick from Thailand likes you!"

"She's from Taiwan..."

"So you do know she likes you! You need to ask her out!" Alfred encouraged the Japanese girl.

"Why?" Although Kiku asked, she already knew she had to. She hadn't had that earlier discussion with Yao for nothing.

"Because when a girl likes you, you ask her out! That's how it works." Alfred said it as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I didn't know that..." Kiku sighed.

"It's part of the rules, y'know?" Alfred shrugged then grinned, "Call her!"

"I-I see." Kiku gulped and pulled out her cell phone, typing Mei's number with slightly-trembling fingers. Please let her still be in gymnastics, she prayed silently. That hope was dashed after the phone rang for a moment, and Mei picked up breathlessly.

"Hello?"

Kiku's mouth went dry.

"H-h-hello, Mei-chan..."

Alfred gave the Japanese girl a thumbs up as he mouthed, 'act natural.'

_'Act natural...?' How do I do that?!_

"Kiku? Why are you calling?"

"U-um, I was wondering i-if you would like to eat with me tonight." Kiku struggled to control her voice. Oh, why can't I just die?

"So like...a date?" Mei asked, and Kiku didn't miss the rising hope in the younger girl's tone.

"Yes..." Kiku tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice, "Like a date..."

Squealing was heard on the other end of the phone line.

Kiku resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said, "At seven... and we'll discuss that later."

"Okay!" the young girl chirped then asked, "Where do we meet though?"

"Be in front of your dorm, alright?" Mei cheerfully agreed and Kiku closed her phone. Something in her snapped and she threw a venomous glare in Alfred's direction.

"What's that glare for?! It sounds like you've got a date!" Alfred grinned.

"I don't-"

"Now you need to look spiffy for your date with what's-her-face!"

"Her name is Mei, and I look fine," Kiku grumbled. "I don't see you trying at all."

Alfred shrugged. "I look fine no matter what I wear. Aly complains a little though; she says she wants me to look nice when we go out."

"It is always nice to look your very best." Kiku couldn't help but agree with Alyssa on that one.

"Exactly why you're getting dressed!" Alfred beamed, hurrying to Kiku's dresser and opened the drawers. Kiku paled; that was where she put her toiletries.

"A-Alfred-san, I can do it myself!" she insisted loudly, nudging the American away from her dresser. He shrugged and stepped away with a casual "Whatever."

"What do you suggest I wear?" Kiku asked, her back facing him.

"Well, you could wear your uniform or you can wear something else." Alfred flopped down onto Kiku's bed.

Kiku frowned_, why should I wear something nice? The plan is to make Mei-chan not like me anymore, right? Maybe I can get Alfred-san's help..._

"I don't want to look like I am trying too hard," she said aloud. Alfred nodded.

"That's true," he said. "We don't know how much that Mei chick likes you, right? You gotta play it cool."

Kiku nodded, hating every moment of this.

"So I'm going to get you in on a little secret," Alfred slung an arm around her shoulders. He gave her a dead-serious look, "You can't tell anyone, got it?"

Kiku murmured an 'I promise.'

"You gotta think like a girl," Alfred paused, dramatically, "like what a girl wants, what they want to hear."

Kiku stared.

"Really," she said flatly. "I'm not sure I can do that."

Alfred let out his obnoxious laughter. "Sure you can, dude! Probably easier than most guys."

"...what is that supposed to mean?"

"You are a bit more in touch with your girl side..." Alfred replied, almost smirking.

"...I have homework to do," Kiku excused herself with a bitter tone. Alfred's smirk deflated.

"Um, I didn't mean to make you mad," he said uncertainly. "Um...hey, I need help with mine!"

Kiku sighed heavily. "Alright. Bring it over."

"Awesome! You rock, man!"

**xXx**

Five minutes before seven, Kiku left her dorm, dressed in a white collared shirt and slacks, to head to the front of the girl's dorms. Alfred was skipping up ahead, whistling some off-key tune. Kiku sighed as she crossed her arms to keep warmth. She completely forgot a coat and would have to run back to her dorm after picking up Mei. Or maybe not. She didn't want to draw this out any more than she had to, after all. She could live with being a bit cold for a while. Alfred had left to go find Alyssa, making a promise to be right back.

_Alyssa-san's going to throw a hissy fit when she sees me_... Kiku thought to herself, wringing her hands.

"Kiku! There you are!" Mei called out as she raced out the door.

"Ah, hello Mei-chan," Kiku gave her a slight bow.

"Sorry if I made you wait," the Taiwanese girl said breathlessly. "So, where are we going?"

"I'm not sure. Alfred-san wanted to double up with his girlfriend, so it depends on what he says."

Mei looked confused. "His girlfriend? Isn't she that mean blond girl?"

"Yes." Kiku let out a sigh. "I would rather be alone as well, but Alfred-san is difficult to refuse."

Looking a bit disappointed, Mei nodded mutely.

Be awkward. Kiku told herself. She cleared her throat, "I...like your shoes..."

Mei glanced down at her pink flats then looked up and laughed lightly, "Thank you, Kiku." she waited, expecting the disguised woman to compliment how she looked.

"Oh look... a star." Kiku pointed up at the sky to Mei's dismay.

"Yeah...it looks nice," she said. "Um, is Mr. Alfred supposed to be here soon?"

Kiku nodded. "He said he would be. I am not sure where he is right now. I don't have my cell phone on me."

"What do you mean 'Kiku's coming?!'" a shriek was heard from across the campus. Kiku and Mei's attention snapped to Alfred and Alyssa who were arguing as they walked to the other couple.

"Look Aly, calm down." Alfred soothingly told the woman.

"You see?" Kiku muttered to Mei, who nodded looking sick. The younger girl's hand gripped Kiku's, and the Japanese girl decided to let her. They both needed it.

"H-hello," Mei greeted nervously, tightening her fingers enough for her knuckles to turn white.

Alyssa arched an eyebrow as she replied, curtly, "Hi."

Mei bit her lip and looked away, feeling uncomfortable with eye contact. Kiku didn't blame her, Alyssa was a scary person.  
Kiku decided to break the tension by asking, "Where are we eating tonight?

Alfred shrugged, draping an arm over Alyssa's shoulders. "Dunno. What do you want?"

"_I _want Red Lobster," Alyssa snapped, before turning and stalking down the path. Alfred gave the two Asians an apologetic look before taking off after her.

Mei glared at Alfred's back, "Those two..."

"I am sorry." Kiku sighed, already regretting this. On the upside, Mei wouldn't want to go on another date with Kiku ever again.

"It's fine," Mei turned to face the Japanese woman, "I'm happy to be here"

Or maybe not.

"Right," Kiku coughed awkwardly into her hand. "Shall we go?"

"Sure! Mei latched onto her arm as they followed the American couple down the street to the restaurant. As they walked, Kiku went out of her way to think of things that would turn Mei off. She decided to keep their conversation brief and to the point. Whenever the Taiwanese asked Kiku a question, she would answer quickly and short enough to end the topic. Hopefully, Mei would notice and find this unattractive.

When they got to the restaurant, Mei actually pulled the door open for Kiku and had her go in first before following. The two of them took the opposite side of the table, facing Alfred and Alyssa. Alfred picked up his menu to examine the beverages, trying to decide what he wanted. The two Asians did the same. Alyssa, on the other hand, took a dainty sip of her water. Mei was trying her best at being friendly asked Alyssa what she was getting to drink. The blonde snarled, "Water, because I actually care about how I look."

Mei stared at the blonde wearing a questioning look, "All I asked was what you were having to drink. Not your whole life goal."

Kiku bit her tongue to keep from snickering. Alyssa looked ready to spit acid, but when Alfred put his hand on hers, she noticeably calmed down. Mei let out a light breath, looking slightly relieved. Thankfully, a waitress came to take their drink orders, actually easing the awkwardness. Ordering drinks lasted only thirty seconds. They needed a new topic. Alfred grinned, "Kiku didja hear about that new Wii that's coming out?"

_Oh no, Alfred-san..._ Kiku wanted to bury her head in her arms when she saw the furious look Alyssa gave her.

She cast her eyes downward and shook her head. "No. I'm afraid I've never been much of a Wii player."

"Huh?" Alfred looked confused. "But it's all cool and Japanesey. I thought for sure you would have."

"It just never caught my interest." Kiku shrugged, searching for a new topic. She decided to talk about whatever her eyes landed on first.

Ah, yes! Perfect!

"Spoons are a nice utensil." Kiku casually took a sip of her water. The group stared at her. Then Mei said, "Oh yes, I agree. It's much easier using them than chopsticks when you're eating like, soup and things."

Encouraged by her success of starting a conversation, Kiku continued, "Chopsticks can be difficult sometimes."

"So then you turn to spoons!" Mei finished, smiling wide.

"Uh, lame," Alyssa faked a yawn.

"You have something against spoons, Aly?" Alfred asked jokingly.

"I never said I did," she sniffed haughtily. "But can't we find a better topic of conversation?"

Alfred shrugged. "Sure. How's school going?"

Alyssa choked on her water.

After regaining her composure, Alyssa answered, "My grades could be better, but I'm working harder."

"Babe, you'll get those grades." Alfred pecked the woman on the cheek. Kiku noticed her smile twitch and her eyes darting to the clock on the wall.

"I know." she replied, a bit too confidently.

The waiter returned then with their drinks, and the group ordered their food. Kiku didn't have much of an appetite, so just ordered a light meal. Alfred ordered enough to feed a small army, and Alyssa decided to just share his food. They didn't talk much during dinner, though Mei did try to start a few unsuccessful conversations. When dinner came to an end, Alyssa explained to Alfred that she had a ton of homework she needed to finish before taking off home which left Mei, Kiku and Alfred.

"...Well," Kiku said, standing. "I have some things I need to do." She turned to her 'date'. "Mei-chan, can you get back to campus on your own?"

Mei blinked. "Well, yes, but-"

"Alright. I'll see you later." Kiku sent her and Alfred a blunt wave and retreated out the door, taking a deep breath in relief once she was outside.

This was just what she needed. An evening walk all by herself where no one can bother her. She hurried down the paved road, relying only on streetlights to see. She could go check out the video game store. Sure, why not? Kiku mentally mapped out the shortcut to said store and realized, that shortcut wasn't entirely safe, but she knew self-defense...

She kept walking, her mind elsewhere, when she collided with something solid. Kiku looked up into the faces of three punks, who didn't look too friendly.

"E-excuse me," she said, attempting to sidestep them.

The leader Kiku assumed, grabbed her by the shirt collar, smirking at her, "What're you doing out so late at night?"

"I have my reasons," Kiku replied, coolly before trying to duck out of his grasp.

"We've seen you around. You go to the big fancy school, right? Place like that, you gotta have a lotta cash on you right?"

Kiku could tell immediately she was in a very bad situation.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT LOLO'S BACK HELL YEAH MOTHERFUCKERS**

**Lolo: YEAH! I'M BACK AND READY TO WRITE**

**Hatsu: I missed you Q.Q**

**Lolo: I missed you, too. -reuniting hug-**

**Hatsu: :D****:D**** But yes! Now we can get back to our longer chapters and quicker updates! Next chapter is going to be so fantastic and intense, just sayin~**

**Lolo: IT SHALL! AND IT'LL SO FLUFFED LIKE THIS ONE.**

**Hatsu: You all enjoyed that little tripping accident in the dorm room. You all did. Your argument is invalid.**

**Lolo: Accident? That was no accident when we wrote it. *evil laugh* Well for them it was.**

**Hatsu: Hehehe...no indeed it was not. Anyway! Thank you all very much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. We get more every time we add a new chapter, which is...*mind explodes***

**Lolo: Hey, me coming back to over sixty reviews was the best Welcome Home gift ever.**

**Hatsu: Seriously, one of the first things she said to me when she got online was "WHERE DID ALL THESE REVIEWS COME FROM?" Haha. Keep it coming you guys!**

**Lolo: Because you are close to Prussia Awesome.**

**Hatsu: Yes! What will happen to Kiku? We shall see...Thank you for reading!**

**Lolo: Yes! Thank you!**


	10. Realizations

The leader of the group cracked his knuckles, smirking, then gestured for his lackeys to follow. Kiku immediately braced herself, prepared to flip them over. Her confidence was beginning to deflate when she saw the silver blade of a knife that the third man pulled out of his coat.

_This is really not good, _Kiku thought, panic curling in her stomach. She took a deep breath and readied her stance. _Keep calm,_ she told herself. _You were trained to defend yourself against situations like this._ She whipped out her hands, grabbing the wrist of the man with the knife and twisting it, wincing at the sickening snap it made as the bone splintered. The man with the knife screamed in pain as he held his wrist, cursing.

Kiku felt someone grab her arms and pinned them behind her back. She grit her teeth, struggling to break free from his grasp. The leader shoved passed the injured thug, leaning his arm back to increase the power of the punch. The blow caught her in the stomach, stealing her breath. Kiku doubled over, gasping for air, and was unprepared for being lifted by her jacket and slammed into the wall, the back of her head knocking into the hard stone.

"Little brat," she heard one man growl, his putrid breath filling her senses as she struggled weakly. "That was a really bad decision." He dropped her to the ground and wrapped both hands around her neck, choking what little air the girl had regained back out.

Kiku felt her strength draining as she tried futilely go get free, her movements getting weaker. Blackness was filling her vision and her sight was replaced by cold, gripping terror.

_I'm going to die._

The pressure around Kiku's neck suddenly loosened and she fell to her knees then collapsed, hitting her head hard against the cement. She didn't know what had happened, but she felt herself being lifted and carried. "Shit, shit," she heard a familiar voice mutter, before blacking out completely.

**xXx**

Kiku came to her senses slowly, becoming aware that she wasn't lying on the pavement but was instead sitting up leaning against a wall. Her eyes fluttered open to see a certain American inhaling a cheeseburger. She frowned and glanced around the premises. Where was she and how did she cheat death? Alfred glanced up, stared at her for a moment, and then immediately started choking. He took an enormous swallow prior to gulping down water before gasping out, "You're alive!"

"What happened?" Kiku asked then winced when she felt a sharp pain in her head.

"I kicked those guys' asses!" Alfred fist pumped, but then looked at her, concerned, "they really beat you up. It's a good thing I came when I did."

Kiku swallowed. Her throat was swollen and felt like rough sandpaper. She grimaced and took a long drink from the water glass in front of her before asking, "So how did we end up here?"

"Food usually makes everyone feel better!" Alfred grinned, "plus I wanted to wait until you wake up before we headed back to campus!"

"I see." Kiku's right hand went to her bruising neck, brushing over it gingerly. "What time is it?"

Alfred shrugged. "Maybe around nine. I'm not sure. After you left the restaurant place, you seemed kinda upset so I followed you to see what was wrong."

_I bet Alyssa-san loved that,_ Kiku thought grimly._ I'm just digging myself deeper._

"I see," she said.

"Anyway, I saw those three guys talking to you, and then..." Alfred went silent and stared at her intently. "You really are okay, right?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely fine," Kiku replied, sighing.

"But your neck is red from the dude's hands and your face is really pale," Alfred pointed out, locking eyes with hers.

Kiku raised her eyes to meet his, and was startled when Alfred looked genuinely afraid.

"Y-yes," she said. "You don't have to worry.

He fidgeted with the end of his jacket, looking downcast. In a small voice, he mumbled "I thought you died. When you just sort of dropped to the ground like that, you looked dead."

Kiku's heart skipped a beat. She never thought she'd see him like this towards her of all people! She mumbled, "Sorry to have worried you..."

Alfred blinked. "But it's not your fault. You don't need to apologize."

"I do, actually," Kiku said, though she wasn't sure why. She didn't know what this urge to comfort him was; all she knew was that she hated the sad and desperate look in his eyes. She liked it when he smiled.

And he had saved her. Saved her! He didn't have to do that! For all his ramblings about it, that action was undoubtedly heroic. She smiled softly. If it weren't for him she would be left to bleed to her death. If he wasn't checking to make sure she's alright... He really cared. If anything were to happen to him, would she...?

Kiku bit her lip. Yes.

She would react the same way.

And, it hit her, probably worse.

She would panic. She would lose her head completely. This realization shocked her, and Kiku found herself staring at the American with newfound emotion.

"Alfred-san...thank you very much. I owe you my life."

He looked surprised, before laughing awkwardly. "Uh, no, it's not that big of a deal. Don't worry about it."

"We should get back to our dorm..." Kiku suggested as she stood up.

"Right! Let me just pay." Alfred reached for his wallet and pulled out the right amount of cash.

They left the booth. Kiku felt lightheaded when she stood, and her heartbeat quickened when Alfred reached out to help her. She said a soft thank-you and tried to settle the blood that had risen in her cheeks.

_What is happening?_

The answer was pretty obvious, even to her. At some point between earlier that day and now, Kiku had developed a crush on her roommate.

They walked in silence on the way back to their room. Kiku's mind was swirling with thoughts, trying to figure out her life. Her crush will pass fast, right? They typically don't last too long. These were things that Kiku continued to tell herself.

The more she thought about it though, the more curious she became about the American.

She considered it more later that night. Okay, she liked Alfred. That fact had snuck up on her and she was just now acknowledging it. The feelings she had were sudden and alien; Kiku wasn't sure how to handle them.

She was unsurprisingly unable to sleep that night, and lay awake pondering the situation.

What was it she liked about Alfred? He was strong, and saved her from possible murder...

Kiku groaned quietly and rolled over onto her stomach, planting her face into her pillow. If she only liked him because he had saved her, then she was no better than Alyssa who was only with him so she could have her own hero.

_Think harder!_ Kiku snapped to herself. _Don't let yourself become some shallow girl who chases after a boy for no good reason. Get your head together._

Alfred. He had his pros. He was strong and certainly handsome. Though a bit dim-witted he was a genuinely good person who put others before himself. He was always smiling. He saw decency in the most unlikely people. Those were great reasons to like him. She glanced over at the bed that was on the opposite side of the room where he was sleeping, mumbling incoherent words.

Watching Alfred and Alyssa be together was going to be painful for the Japanese girl. Speaking of Alyssa, that led into the cons of liking Alfred.

One, Kiku was disguised as a boy. Two, Alyssa would make her life hell if she found out, if the blonde girl wasn't already planning on doing so. In other words, Kiku should forget her crush and try to move on, because this would get her killed by Alyssa. Kiku sighed.

What was she going to do?

Kiku couldn't remember drifting off to sleep, but that's apparently what had happened because she opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming in through the window. She focused her eyes on her alarm clock, bolting up in bed when she saw the time. She was running late! She stumbled out of bed, ignoring her aching head and her sore body.

"Why didn't my alarm go off?" Kiku wondered as she began unbuttoning her shirt to put on a fresh one. She froze when she heard the sink running in the bathroom. She buttoned her shirt back up, quickly; she finished just as the bathroom door slammed open. Alfred stood there shirtless with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

Oh great. Forgetting this crush was going to be more difficult than she thought.

Kiku felt her cheeks heating up and swiftly occupied herself with looking through her dresser.

"Hey," Alfred raced back into the bathroom to spit the minty substance in the sink and rinse off his toothbrush. He returned promptly and asked, "Are you getting dressed?"

Kiku responded with a shaky, "Y-yes."

She heard footsteps from behind her, "I can't let you do that!"

Kiku looked towards the ceiling. "Alfred-san, we have school today."

"Nu-uh. You don't"

She turned to face him, noting he was thankfully wearing a shirt now. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you're still pretty beat up from last night."

"I told you that I'm fine..."

"No, you're not."

Kiku shut her dresser drawer with a little more force than she had intended.

"Alfred-san, I cannot skip school. There is no reason to."

"Yes there is!" Alfred pouted. "You still look all pale, like you're sick or something! You need to sleep more!"

Kiku glared, "You cannot make me stay. Excuse me, I need to get dressed."

"Kiku! Dude, you're pushing yourself." Alfred crossed his arms. "If you take one step into that bathroom I'll... uh..." he hesitated, unsure what to say.

"I can and will flip you over," Kiku said shortly. Internally she wondered where her irritation had come from; it wasn't normal for her to be this edgy.

Alfred shifted his position to what looked like a football stance. "I'll tackle you before you get the chance!"

Kiku arched an eyebrow at the American, "Is that a challenge?"

"Fuck yeah it is."

Kiku lunged forward, aiming for Alfred's arm. The American wasn't expecting her to move that quickly, but when he felt Kiku's grip, he wrapped his arms all the way around her just as she was getting ready to send him flying. The end result was the two of them doing a sort of awkward somersault and crashing into the floor. They ended up in just as strange a position as the previous day. Alfred lay on his back and Kiku on his chest, both facing up with the American's arms wrapped around the girl and holding her hands. Kiku briefly wondered if getting into situations like that was becoming habit.

Well, in any case, she didn't have time to deliberate. She pulled her hands free of Alfred's, taking advantage of his hesitation to hurriedly grab her clothes and make a mad dash into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she changed into her binding and uniform, not bothering to button her jacket seeing as she would be late if she took any more time. Before exiting the bathroom, Kiku put her ear to the door and listened for Alfred. It was silent outside, and she hoped he had given up and left.

She opened the door, stepped out, and was promptly tackled by her determined roommate.

Kiku was lifted off her feet as Alfred tried to haul her back to her bed. She kicked at his legs, making him yelp in surprise. The two of them crashed into the footboard and tumbled over it, landing on the soft mattress.

"Just give up, will you?" Alfred panted, leaning over her.

"No," Kiku answered. "I am Japanese. We do not simply give in."

"Well you're gonna have to cave soon. I'll keep us like this all day if I need to."

"Challenge accepted."

The conversation was interrupted by the sudden sound of a person clearing their throat. The pair looked toward the door to see Arthur there wearing a superior deadpan expression.

"Morning. Am I interrupting something?"

Alfred shot off the bed like it had suddenly burst into flame. "Artie! Sup dude? Where did you come from?" He spoke the words quickly, as though they would lodge in his throat if he didn't get them out.

Kiku was incredibly grateful for the distraction, and before Alfred could stop her she too jumped up, nodding quickly at the Brit as she took off out the door, running for her life.

She really needed to talk to Lien.

**A/N:**

**Props to Akirafanatic for correctly prophesying what Lolo and I were planning.**

**But seriously, get out of our head. The two of us share a brain and three's a crowd.**


	11. Explosions

Kiku ignored her name that was being called out by Alfred and instead sped up her running speed. She really needed to speak to Lien alone before their first class began. The Japanese girl raced outside the dorm, skidding to a halt only to catch her breath. She took off again shortly, looking to evade Alfred in case he came chasing after her. You couldn't be too careful when it came to him.

Lien probably wouldn't be in the cafeteria anymore considering how late it was; school was due to start in ten or fifteen minutes. Kiku called to memory what her friend's first class was and hurried to that room. She saw Lien seated at her respective desk, reading a novel before class began. Kiku felt a sense of relief wash over her and tapped on the young woman's shoulder. The Vietnamese glanced up then frowned, "Kiku? What are-"

"I need to talk to you. Now." Kiku told her anxiously. She then added, quietly, "Please?"

Lien set her novel down, stood up and followed Kiku outside of the classroom.

"What's the matter?" she asked, looking concerned. "I figured you'd be in class right now."

"Y-yes, well..." Kiku sighed heavily and brushed her bangs out of her face. "Some things have happened and I'm not sure what to do."

"What kinds of things?" Lien asked curiously.

"Relationship things."

"Relationship... things..." Lien repeated slowly.

Kiku nodded silently.

"For...you?"

"It's complicated."

Lien slapped a palm to her forehead. "Oh don't tell me..."

"..."

"It's the American, isn't it?"

Kiku had to admit she wasn't the least bit surprised that Lien knew, but that didn't stop her from staring with a slightly agape mouth. She shut it and gave a sheepish nod, an ashamed look crossing her features, "Yes..."

"That was faster than I thought it would be," came the dry comment. Kiku stared at her.

"...excuse me?"

Lien just shrugged. "Well, with the two of you sharing a room and you being a straight-I assume-girl and all, I figured i would happen sooner or later."

Kiku pursed her lips and stared, "What should I do?"

"You want my honest opinion?"

"Yes."

"Go for him."

Kiku stared some more. "A-ah, see, I was considering just ignoring it and letting it pass because, Alyssa-san said-"

"Stop." Lien raised a hand. "You're too nervous right now. Deep breath."

Kiku realized she'd been twisting her hands together. She dropped them by her side and took a deep breath.

"I can't like Alfred-san," she said.

"Why not?"

"Alyssa-san threatened me..."

"What?!" Lien's hands balled into fists, furious by this piece of information, "What do you mean she 'threatened' you?"

"She said she would end me. I believe her."

Lien's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That crazy...okay, that settles it. You're getting with Alfred."

The Vietnamese was so adamant about the matter, Kiku didn't want to protest. Lien was typically a stoic girl but was a bit frightening when agitated. However, this was one issue Kiku didn't just want to drop.

"I don't want to antagonize Alyssa-san," she said softly. "I'm somewhat afraid of her, honestly."

"Just keep doing what you're doing." Lien shrugged, ignoring Kiku, "I can tell Alfred likes you."

"But I don't want to be on her bad side..."

The warning bell rang for class, but neither girl paid it any attention.

"Look," Lien said. "It's better Alfred be with you than her. It's true, you know it is, you're just to shy and reserved to say it."

"Well..."

"And don't worry about what she _says_ she'll do. You have friends here. You don't think we won't watch out for you, do you?"

It had never crossed Kiku's mind that she wasn't alone. She was so used to dealing with things by herself that she had completely forgotten the friends she had made. It wasn't just the Asians who would watch her back, but she even had Gilbert and his friends. Maybe Alfred depending on the situation. She was almost safe from Alyssa's clutches. She inhaled deeply, gathering her thoughts, and smiled.

"Thank you Lien-chan. I had not thought of that."

"Clearly." The Vietnamese girl rolled her eyes teasingly. "So what are you going to do?"

"I... try your idea, I suppose." Kiku gave in, but quickly added, "But not head on."

Lien half smiled, "That's good. Alyssa is going to fall."

The final bell rang then, making the two of them jump. Kiku waved a hurried goodbye and headed off to her math class, deep in thought. She found herself not paying any attention during math; she didn't even hear the dismissal bell when it rang. In fact, Antonio had to tap her on the shoulder to let her know. She thanked him and went off to her next class. Though Kiku was usually very invested in her psychology class, she couldn't stop thinking of next period when she would see Alfred again.

Try and win his affections? Was she insane? But at the same time...

"Kiku!" the Japanese woman jumped at the sound of her name. "Man, you really are out of it today!"

"What is it?" she asked the albino German.

"Teacher said to pick a partner..." Gilbert frowned, staring.

"O-Oh," Kiku answered, turning slightly red. "Alright then. Gilbert-san, would you like to be my partner?"

"Well yeah, that's why I started talking to you." Gilbert flashed his cocky grin as his bird flew circles around his head. "Hey, have you seen Matthias today?"

Kiku blinked, "No. I haven't... why do you ask?"

The German shrugged. "Dunno. He called me all excited about something but there were people yelling in the background. I was wondering if you knew anything about it.

Kiku shook her head. "No, I apologize. Gilbert-san, we should do our work..."

"Oh. Right."

Gilbert had just reached for his textbook when the fire alarm went off. The German, startled, dropped his book to cover his ears, mumbling, "Who the fuck would set a fire at this hour?"

Kiku, however, reacted immediately, grabbing Gilbert's wrist and dragging the student out of the room with her.

"WAIT. Gilbird's back there!"

Gilbert pulled away from her, running back for his bird, and then reemerged a moment later with Gilbird tucked in his shirt pocket. Students were rushing out, flooding the hallway. Kiku mentally facepalmed when he returned. The two hurried down the hallways, Gilbert shoving his way passed people with Kiku trailing. They managed to stumble out of the school, joining the other students lounging on the lawn, chattering about the fire alarm. Gilbert spotted Mathias as soon as they went outside and pulled Kiku along. Kiku's eyes widened as she saw both Matthias and Lukas standing together, covered in burns.

"What happened?" she asked, mentally debating if she really wanted to know.

Lukas didn't say anything and just pinched the bridge of his nose. Matthias grinned guiltily.

"It was an accident, I swear."

"What was?" Gilbert smirked at the Dane.

"I decided that I would come to Chemistry early today so that Lukas and I can get a head start!"

Kiku sighed; she didn't need to hear any more. It was quite clear what had happened.

"I told you it was a bad idea, idiot," Lukas snapped with uncharacteristic anger, adjusting his cross hairpin irritably. "You just had to do it."

"What?" Gilbert's smirk widened eager to hear more.

"I wanted to see what happens when you combine all the chemicals!" he sheepishly grinned, "y'know as an experiment?"

Lukas put his hands to his ears and chanted "Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot," in a quiet voice.

"And how did that turn out?" Kiku sighed, ready to take up the Norwegian's course of action.

Scratching the back of his head, Matthias gestured to the fire trucks lining up outside the class building. "Well...yeah."

Gilbert looked from his Danish friend to the trucks and back again before bursting into laughter.

"I just noticed," he gasped. "This is your entire fault _and_ your eyebrows are gone!"

Matthias' jaw dropped, "What?! They're gone?"

"After an explosion like that, of course they would singe off." Lukas added his two cents in.

Matthias rubbed the areas above his eyes, looking dumbstruck. "They're gone...I don't believe it."

With a completely straight face, Lukas spoke over Gilbert's laughter, "The others are going to laugh at you. I'm laughing."

"But... there goes the rest of my year." Matthias sighed.

Kiku rolled her eyes, almost amused. After standing there for nearly an hour and a half, it was announced that the students and teachers were allowed to head back inside. After some mental calculations, Kiku figured that her English class would be half over by now, and headed in the direction of Mrs. Weiss' room. The halls of the school smelled like cleaning solution and petrol.

Kiku realized that, since they had stood outside for so long, she had successfully avoided Alfred from their World Cultures class. They still had English together, which she wasn't looking forward to, but it wouldn't take long to get through. Kiku made her way to her English class, taking a different to route so that she can avoid Alfred. Thankfully, Alfred hadn't come to class yet and she was able to think without him bothering her for almost two minutes. She didn't notice the American until he plopped down in his seat next to her and sent her a glare. Even so, Kiku wanted to keep her composure.

"Hello, Alfred-san."

"You were supposed to take a day off today." Alfred replied, his glare deepening.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

Kiku bit her lip. So far, making Alfred like her was failing. What could she say? Er... "I'm sorry," she replied finally. Kiku wasn't all that sorry, considering, but what else could she say?

Alfred grimaced at her. "Fine."

She resisted the urge to shoot him a dirty look and returned her focus to the front of the room where the teacher was beginning the lesson. They ignored each other the rest of the period, only speaking when necessary. Sometimes Kiku would glance over and catch him looking at her, only for the two of them to avert their gazes quickly.

As soon as the final bell rung, Kiku gathered her things and took off. She hurried to the rooftop to meet with her group. When she got to the roof, the rest of them were already there. Mei flushed deep red when Kiku saw her, and the Japanese girl cursed inwardly. How could she have forgotten about Mei?! She let out a long sigh as she took a seat next to Lien instead of Mei. She then realized she had completely forgotten to grab a lunch.

_Great._

Yao looked at her sympathetically and offered her some of his food, which Kiku greatly appreciated. Lien kept shooting her smirks, making the Japanese girl turn a bit pink. Yao, noticing this, almost questioned the two, but decided to wait until after lunch. Instead he asked, "Mei how was your date last night, aru?"

Kiku and Mei paled in synchronization.

"U-Uhh," the Taiwanese girl stammered, "I-it was good..."

"That's great, aru!" Yao beamed at the two, "I'm happy for you!"

"Yeah..." Mei looked down at her lap.

Kiku felt a surge of guilt flood through her, and she stood up.

"M-Mei-chan, may I speak with you?"

Lien raised her eyebrows as Mei nodded wordlessly, following Kiku to a far corner of the roof.

"What is it?" she asked, her face resembling a tomato.

Kiku took a deep breath to steady herself. "I would like to apologize."

"WH-what?" Mei stammered, wringing her hands.

"I am sorry for leaving you to walk back to campus alone." Kiku bowed.

"It's alright, I guess," Mei seemed to be avoiding eye contact and instead becoming interested in her shoes, "Where were you?"

"I just needed to clear my head." Kiku's breath left in a huff. "Ah, Mei-chan, I'm sorry but I don't think..."

"It's okay," Mei interrupted suddenly. "You don't want to date me. It's fine. I realized last night...it probably wouldn't work anyway."

Kiku was stunned into silence for a moment. "...Oh."

"Yeah." Mei shrugged lightly. "I could tell. You like Alfred, right?"

"I-I-I... Wh-what makes you think that?"

"The way you two interacted at dinner last night." Mei responded after thinking.

"What?!"

"And the way you're reacting now."

Kiku raised her hands in defeat. "A-Alright...yes, I do. I'm sorry."

Mei blew her bangs back. "It's fine, I swear. Don't worry about it."

Kiku bit her lip, the feeling of guilt still weighing down on her chest, "I... are you sure, Mei-chan?"

Mei softly smiled, "Of course I'm sure."

They looked at each other shyly for a moment, then turned to rejoin the rest of the group.

...only to see the rest of the group standing not three feet away, observing and listening to every word that was said.

Kiku felt her face heat up as soon as she saw them. Yao's jaw had dropped, Yong Soo was grinning, Hong didn't seem to show any reaction to the conversation, Lien was smirking and Binh just seemed confused. Hyung Soo was only one who hadn't joined them, and had hung back looking irritated.

Everyone was frozen, until Mei snapped and shouted "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" at which point they all scattered and Yong Soo skipped away singing, "Kiku likes Alfred! Kiku likes Alfred!"

Kiku hung her head, blushing furiously. Yao made a mental note to talk to her as soon as lunch was over. By the looks of it, Lien already knew about the crush. When did this even happen?! "YONG SOO!" Mei shrieked, "DON'T JUST SHOUT IT OUT FOR ALL THE WORLD TO HEAR!"

Kiku collapsed on the ground and buried her head in her arms. "I would like to die, please."

Lien gave the woman a comforting pat on the back. She then gave the Korean a menacing glare, "Yong Soo, if you don't stop right now, you're going to have an unspeakable death."

"May I jump off this roof?" Kiku mumbled.

"No," Yao and Lien said together. Mei had run over and tackled Yong Soo around the waist to get him to shut up. Once Yong Soo quieted down, Yao turned around to face Kiku, frowning, "When did you start... you know..."

"Er... yesterday?"

"So... How did it happen?" Yao shuffled his feet, looking embarrassed.

Kiku bit her lip. "It's a long story..."

Yao sighed, "You can tell me about it after school..."

"I will." Kiku promised.

"Kiku!" Yong Soo spoke up, bouncing, "why didn't you tell us you liked guys?!"

"Yong Soo!" Lien scolded as Kiku knocked her head against the ground.

"What?" the Korean pouted. "It's just a simple question."

"Well, look at him, aru," Yao pointed out, gesturing to the limp Kiku on the ground, "he probably didn't say anything because he's embarrassed about it."

"But... we're his friends." Yong Soo was genuinely confused, "we wouldn't make fun of you!"

At once the Asians all immediately thought of Yong Soo screaming 'Kiku likes Alfred!'

"That's a lie!" Binh yelled over cheerfully. Yong Soo stuck his tongue out at him.

"Kiku's suicidal now and it's your fault, Yong," Hong chipped in bluntly.

"I need to get to class." Kiku quietly excused herself and stood up.

"But we have another fifteen minutes!" Yong Soo called to her from where he stood.

Yao shook his head at the Korean and promptly followed Kiku down the steps. "You okay, aru?" he asked as they went down the stairs, heading for the locker rooms. Kiku sighed heavily.

"I suppose so."

"So... Alfred."

"Yes."

"Interesting, aru."

"Very."

"Lien was right..."

"What?"

The Chinese grinned. "After Lien first met you, she came to me and said, 'she's going to fall for her roommate, hands down.'"

Kiku buried her face in her hands, "Please tell me you're kidding..."

"I'm serious, aru!"

"Oh. Look, the locker rooms..." Kiku pointed up ahead and sped up her pace.

"Are you mad?" Yao asked, jogging to catch up with her.

The Japanese girl ran her hands through her hair. "No, I'm not mad. I'm embarrassed and worried about too many things."

"Like what, aru?"

"I'd rather not talk about it..."

"Kiku! Tell me."

"Well..." she chewed her lip nervously."Does the name Alyssa-san ring any bells?"

"...ah."

She nodded and continued, "I'm just a little concerned about her."

"Did she harass you anymore?!"

"She, kind of... threatened me."

Yao gave her a hard stare, "How so?"

"She said she would end me." Kiku's breath rushed out. "I'm not sure I want to test that, Yao-san."

"Oh, is that it?" He grinned. "Don't worry about it, aru! I'll watch out for you!"

"I know, but still..."

"Hey, Kiku, you have so many friends that can give you support." Yao told her as he opened the door to the locker rooms.

"You're right," she smiled. "I do."

Yao smiled back. "See you when you're done changing."

"Right."

After everyone was changed, Kiku followed Yao and the rest of the boys out to the gym where the teacher was explaining what sport they would be playing that day. It was tennis, and the teacher announced he would be pairing the boys and the girls together to play. They all lined up and Mr. Lopez sorted them off randomly.

Considering Kiku's luck recently, she figured it was almost inevitable who she would end up with.

When he reached Kiku, he pointed to Alyssa who was gawking when saw who she was paired with.

Kiku picked up a racket and went up to Alyssa, half-scared of what the woman was up to. They didn't say anything to each other, but the blond girl sent Kiku a glare that could curdle dairy.

"Everyone will be practicing hitting the tennis ball to the other... yeah. Nobody give one another a concussion... We already had that happen to Francis earlier today so..."

Half the class snorted at that, and then began. Kiku hadn't played tennis much, and when she had, it wasn't very good. She spent her time dodging the furiously-hit tennis balls Alyssa threw in her direction. Finally, Kiku had enough of Alyssa and hit a tennis ball hard. It flew in Alyssa's direction and hit her jaw with a loud thump. The Japanese woman had to hide the triumphant smile that had spread across her face from Alyssa who now had a red circle on her chin.

She sent Kiku a murderous look, but the Japanese just shrugged and readied her position. Alyssa's eyes narrowed and soon the two of them were engaged in a full-on battle. Kiku managed to dodge some of the tennis balls hit in her direction, but had been smacked in the head by a few of the fuzzy objects. Alyssa, however, lacked Kiku's skills in dodging; luckily, Kiku wasn't terrific at aiming and would often miss the teen. They both, however, managed to hit with an extreme amount of force fueled by their dislike for each other. The teacher blew his whistle just as Kiku nailed Alyssa in the gut with her final blow. Alyssa took this as her chance to scream at the top of her lungs, "_Ow!_ Kiku!"

The teacher stared at the drama queen, his mouth in a flat line, "How did you get hurt this time?"

"Kiku's trying to kill me!"

Kiku rearranged her features into an apologetic look, and bowed. "I apologize, Alyssa-san. My aim is very bad."

"Like hell it is!" she spat back. "You did that on purpose!"

The teacher pinched the bridge of his nose while the rest of the class watched with interest. "Alyssa, that's enough."

"What?!"

You've been doing this nearly every gym class." the man explained to the woman slowly, "accidents happen. You clearly think everyone's out to get you." the teacher arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "If you need an ice pack then head to the nurse." his attention turned to Elizabeta, "Elizabeta, you go with Alyssa."

"What?" Elizabeta wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Alyssa eyed the Hungarian girl distastefully and then threw her hands up. "Ugh, forget it! It doesn't matter."

The eyes of everybody watching widened. Had that really just happened? The room was silent, even the gym teacher didn't know what to say. It was Elizabeta who broke the dead silence with her laughter. The attention was now on the girl who was bent over holding her sides from laughter. Alyssa didn't find this amusing, "What are you laughing at?"

"You!" Elizabeta gasped, flipped a lock of wavy brown hair over her shoulder. "You're so ridiculous!"

"What do you mean _ridiculous?!"_ Alyssa's glare darkened, "I am anything _but_ ridiculous! Now if you'll excuse me, class is over!" As soon as she said that the bell, indeed, rung.

Kiku rushed downstairs to the locker room, wanting to avoid Alyssa just in case. When she got down there, Yao came in holding his side from suppressed laughter and gave her a huge hug.

"You, you are amazing, aru!"

Kiku smiled, then frowned, "I tried to aim for her face."

"She was injured either way..." Yao trailed off when Alfred walked into the room.

He crossed over to where the two Asians were standing. "Dude, Kiku, you okay? You were playing pretty intense in there."

"Oh. I apologize about what happened." Kiku then bowed to him. "I thought she saw that I was hitting the ball over to her."

"Oh... well, it's okay if it was an accident."

"It is?" Kiku blinked at her roommate. Yao stared with her.

"Yeah." Alfred shrugged. "I guess she has a tendency to overreact sometimes.

"Sometimes." Kiku agreed, giving the American a small nod.

"Well, I've got class and I need to change." Alfred announced, excusing himself.

Kiku and Yao changed as well, and bid each other goodbye. Kiku went to find Lien. She owed her friend a story.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: Whee this chapter is filler!**

**Lolo: It very much is! But it's an update! **

**Hatsu: We still have lots of stuff planned for the future~ And GUESS WHAT!**

**Lolo: You made cookies?!**

**Hatsu: No, but you're close. Lolo and I made a shared Fanfiction account!**

**Lolo: Oh yes! It's called Hatsu and Lolo and we have one uploaded fic on it already! **

**Hatsu: Cue shameless self-promotion! *dun dun dun* It's a Nordic-centric fic with fem!Iceland and IT'S REALLY GOOD SO GO READ IT KTNXBAI**

**Lolo: In other words, we're confident that you guys would like it. It's about the Nordics raising a female Iceland and it's called 'Just Like You.'**

**Hatsu: AND, off topic, we need to acknowledge Diclonious57 for being our 100th reviewer! Because anything to do with Elfen Lied is good.**

**Lolo: Of course! Thanks so much for all the reviews, favs and alerts!**

**Hatsu: Thank you! :D**


	12. Paranormal Activity and Event Planning

Lien didn't react much when Kiku told her the whole story of her growing crush on Alfred. She did show notable concern when Kiku got into the details of the mugging (though the Japanese girl did gloss it over a bit) but otherwise remained fairly impassive. Yao was different; it was interesting to watch his varying emotions as Kiku told him the story. When she concluded her story, Yao was staring with his mouth agape before clearing his throat, "That was..." the Asian paused to find a word to describe his feelings for her crush and finally just shrugged it off. He then asked, "How do you plan to get together with Alfred when he has Alyssa clinging to him?"

Kiku sighed. The two of them were sitting in his family restaurant again, both picking at their food morosely.

"Lien-chan says I'd be best off just keeping on with what I'm doing. What do you think?"

"I think so, too." Yao gave his nod of approval then frowned.

"What is it?"

"Is Alfred bi?"

Kiku blinked rapidly. "I...do not know. That is part of the problem."

"Hm. We should figure that out, aru."

"How do we figure that out?"

The Asian took a bite of his noodles and chewed thoughtfully, "Just keep doing what you're doing, I suppose."

Kiku shrugged. She supposed that was the best option, though she did still feel like keeping out of Alyssa's way. Who knew what the blond girl was capable of?

Yao stood up, abruptly, "I have a test that I need to study for tomorrow, aru."

Kiku blinked, confused, before smiling, "Alright, I need to do my homework, too."

They stood and bid each other goodbye, going their separate ways to their dorms. When Kiku closed the door, she noticed Alfred wasn't back yet. She decided to not think much of it, assuming he had went out with Alyssa. She set her bag down and headed straight to the restroom to change out of her uniform. After she did so, Kiku decided to finish her homework and maybe play some video games afterwards. She was turning on the console an hour later when her roommate suddenly burst in, looking terrified.

"Kiku! Great, you're here! I need you!"

Kiku noticed the urgency in his tone and asked, worried, "What is it? Is something the matter?"

"I went to the movie rental store, right? And I decided to rent the scariest movie that they owned."

"What movie is that?"

Alfred thrust out the DVD case, his hands trembling. Paranormal Activity 3. Kiku couldn't see what would be so bad about it, but Alfred seemed to be scared already. She looked up at him, confused.

"So why do you need me?"

"W-well..." He swallowed. "U-uhm, well, I figured we could watch it together. If it's too much for you that's okay, I'll be here!" Alfred spoke extremely quickly on the last sentence.

_Ah, I see now..._ Kiku was secretly amused, but decided to play along.

"I'll watch it." she replied, flipping the DVD case over to read the back.

"Really? Okay, cool!" Alfred swiped the case from her hands, clicked it open and put the DVD inside the device.

Alfred was wrapped around her sobbing during the first five minutes.

Kiku found herself blushing throughout most of the film. Her main focus wasn't on the movie itself and more on the fact that Alfred wouldn't let go of her during the movie. Every time the movie showcased a jump scare (which was often) Alfred would yelp in terror and cling tighter, while Kiku just observed with a flat expression. She swore his screams could be heard by their neighbors. In fact, she wasn't surprised when someone did eventually knock on their door. The Japanese girl couldn't get up to answer it, because Alfred refused to let go. Eventually the knocking subsided, due to nobody answering. Kiku sucked in a deep breath and continued watching in silence.

Alfred finally snapped for good at the finale. "Holy fuck what was that?! That's guys spine just bent in half! What is wrong with this movie?! Those two little girls and that lady are crazy! This whole thing is crazy, hold meeee!"

Kiku blinked as Alfred positioned himself so that he was now in her lap with his arms wrapped around her and remained that way until the ending credits ended, rambling.

"Alfred-san," she said evenly once the screen had blacked out, "why did you watch that if you were going to be so scared?"

The American froze, then immediately leapt away from her, attempting to regain composure. "I-I'm not scared! Why would you think that?! I plowed through that movie like a boss!" He gave a weak imitation of his usual boisterous laugh.

Kiku mentally rolled her eyes and stood up. "We should get ready for bed."

"Oh. Um. Yeah, we should." Alfred literally leapt into his bed from where he stood, not bothering to change out of his uniform.

Kiku went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth, leaving Alfred alone in the lamp-lit dorm room. By the time she returned, she found the American trembling under his covers. She didn't say anything, but instead turned out the light and slipped under her own covers, ignoring the pathetic squeak from Alfred as she did so.

Kiku, being exhausted, had fallen asleep within two minutes. She wasn't sure when she was woken up, but she knew she hadn't been asleep for that long when she saw Alfred standing by her bedside. She jumped when she saw the moonlight glinting off his face and, trying to regain control of her racing heart, said "Alfred-san? Is something wrong?"

He swallowed and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "U-um, ah... Hey, you must have been pretty scared after the movie, right?"

"What? No..." What was he doing?

Alfred frowned at her. "Of course you were! So I decided."

"...huh?"

Her roommate coughed awkwardly and gave her a condescending look, as though berating her for not figuring out his intentions herself.

"...Kiku? Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Silence ensued as soon as he asked. She hadn't really expected him to ask such a question. She stared at the American, her cheeks pink.

"Er... I-"

"Oh cool, thanks!" Alfred didn't wait for an answer and climbed into the bed with her.

"Um."

"Don't mind me!" he said, suddenly more cheerful. "You won't even know I'm here!"

_Lies. All lies,_ Kiku thought, feeling uncomfortably hot. Of course one day after she realized her crush on her roommate this would happen. It was just her luck. Though, it would have been awkward in any situation probably. The girl sighed and flopped back down onto her pillow, defeated. Within a minute, Alfred was passed out with his legs sprawled across her and his arms wrapped around her body.

_Oh great._

She dug her elbow into his side, trying to get him to move over. Alfred wasn't having it, and all Kiku got as a response was a repeat of the very first day she tried to wake him up: being used as her roommate's teddy bear. Kiku didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night and when she had, by some miracle, drifted off, she would wake up to him sleep talking in her ear. It was one of the most unpleasant nights that the woman had ever had.

It was even worse knowing that any other girl would be living this up. Kiku's face burned at the thought.

"Leave me alone!" she suddenly heard Alfred shout.

She winced in reply, truly hating this.

_Gaaah, this is horrible._

At times like this Kiku began to forget why she liked him in the first place. Yes, she did like him, to her chagrin, but certain lines couldn't be crossed when it came to her own personal space! Crush or not, Kiku had limits, and Alfred was pushing them. She should just kick him out of her bed... or she could switch to his bed for the remaining three hours of sleep she could get. That seemed like a good idea. However, when Kiku tried to get up and move, Alfred's grip around her tightened like a giant squid.

No doubt about it, she was stuck in her bed with Alfred. F. Jones. She sighed, frustrated. Her day tomorrow was going to be along one.

xXx

Come morning, Kiku was completely bewildered as to how she managed to fall asleep. But she did, and Alfred's face was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. She jumped back, not expecting to wake up to him right there. He had loosened his arms as soon as she did so and fell off of the bed and onto the floor. To her surprise, he didn't wake up. Kiku glanced at the clock and saw that it was definitely time to get up.

She also felt it was time for Alfred to get his comeuppance for the hell he put her through overnight.

So, pretending she hadn't seen him, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up on him. This certainly woke the young American teen up as he jolted up and kicking the intruder. He had managed to knock the Japanese off of the bed yet again as he flailed.

"Wha-Whoa. Oh hi, Kiku.

"...good morning, Alfred-san.

"I was worried you were Toby for a minute."

Toby...? Kiku frowned in confusion. Oh, right. The movie they watched.

Remembering that only enhanced her bad mood, and Kiku grabbed her clothes and strode into the bathroom without another word.

This crush thing was not working wonders for her.

After she was dressed and did the rest of her morning ritual, she stepped outside the door to see Alfred waiting for her, already dressed.

_Huh?_

"You're up," she said, only a hint of emotion in her voice. Alfred looked hurt.

"You're mad."

"I am not."

"Yes you are!" Alfred held a distressed tone of voice. "When you're mad you get all stoic and quiet. More than usual, I mean. You're flat."

Kiku looked at him in surprise, and felt a feeling of wonder than he had been paying attention to things like that. She sighed, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Because of the scary movie?"

"No."

"Oh..."

"I'm going to breakfast." Kiku grabbed her bag and headed out the door without another word. She wasn't quite ready to forgive him; he would have to make it up to her first.

Kiku wondered briefly if she had always been this bitter and sneaky, and it had taken an annoying American to awaken those sides of her.

She went straight to the cafeteria to grab a quick breakfast then headed straight to her locker to pick up a few books. Her classes passed in a blur, and when World History rolled around Kiku was nearly falling asleep in her arms. Seeing Alfred in class did not help, especially when he caught her elbow.

"Hey man, I know you're pissed and all that but sit at my table at lunch, okay? I wanna talk about something."

She agreed despite being angry with him. She didn't want him to keep pestering her after she said no.

"Great! I'll see you at lunch then!"

"Yes."

Alfred had evidently forgotten he had English with her as well.

Apparently, he also managed to rope Arthur into whatever scheme he was planning, and the Brit exchanged an exasperated look with Kiku over the top of Alfred's excitedly-bouncing head. By the time English class ended, Alfred had grabbed the two and literally dragged them to the cafeteria, a mischievous smile worn on his face that could mean that he was up to no good.

A large crowd was already at the table, clearly packed with people Alfred had roped over. Kiku spotted Yao and Lien, Gilbert, Ravi, Roderich, and Elizabeta, Ludwig and a small, bubbly redhead Kiku hadn't met, Antonio and Lovino. Matthias and Lukas were there as well, with three other blondes the Japanese girl had never seen. Francis and Matthew were hanging near the edge of the group.

"Alright! Guys, guys," Alfred approached the table, slinging an arm around Kiku's shoulders, "For those of you who haven't met this dude her. His name is Kiku and he's a ninja."

Kiku rolled her eyes and shrugged the arm away from her.

Ludwig raised his eyebrows. "I trust you didn't bring us all here to meet him?"

Though she had seen him in Service plenty of times, Kiku had never appreciated Ludwig until now.

"Nope!" Alfred's smile broadened. "You know how this weekend is Halloween and all that?"

"Yes!" the red-headed Italian cheered, "this year I'm going to be a kitty and-"

"Yeah, cool, dude, but anyways I have an idea!" Alfred paused, dramatically, waiting for someone to get excited.

Instead Lovino responded, rather irritated, "Well, just spit it out already. Some of us have a life to get back to."

For the first time, Kiku noticed the lack of Alyssa ((whoops)) but decided against commenting on it.

Alfred scowled at the Italian. "I was getting to that, if you would let me. Jeez, you two. You totally are related."

Lovino and the other red-head glanced at each other awkwardly, the former's face reddening as Antonio snickered.

"ANYWAY." Alfred slammed his hands down on the table. "I think it would be a totally awesome idea to go to the haunted house they set up every year in that one place! Wikipedia says it's the largest one in the city. Sounds beast, right?!"

"This is what you wanted to talk to us about?" They honestly should've seen this coming.

"Well, yeah." Alfred sheepishly grinned.

"I think that sounds like fun!" Elizabeta was the one who spoke up first. Every pair of eyes landed on her and Alfred flashed the Hungarian a thumbs up. "Come on, you guys. It's just a haunted house..."

Gilbert smirked, supporting the woman, "It does sound like a blast. Alfred, Ravi and I are in."

"Wait, what?" Ravi stared, bewildered, "Don't I get a say in this? I've heard that haunted house is the real deal. They use an old abandoned home..."

"What are you chicken, Ravi?" Gilbert knew he had poked on a sensitive topic for the Indian.

"I am not!"

"Suuuure.

"How bad can it be?" one of Matthias' friends said with a cheery smile. Lukas and a boy who looked like he could be his brother turned to give him strange looks.

Francis smiled suspiciously. "Who knows what could happen in a dark area with a big group..."

"Are we required?" Yao looked skeptical, Lien matching. Kiku wondered how Alfred managed to drag the two of them away from the rest of Asian group.

Alfred glared at the Chinese. "Yes!"

"I'll be a kitty!"

"Um, yeah, we know, Feliciano." Alfred replied, his smile never leaving his face.

"Why must we, aru?" Yao asked, confused.

"Because I said so! Come on, it would be fun, right?"

"That depends," the boy in Matthias' group said, looking bored.

"Yeah well," Alfred couldn't seem to find anything to say to that. "Well, Ari, you're creepy so you don't have to come."

Ari raised his pale eyebrows. "One, your definitions of creepy don't match anyone else's. Two, wouldn't you want creepiness? Added atmosphere and all that."

Lukas and Matthias snorted.

"Can you handle it, Alfred-san?" Kiku said casually, speaking for the first time. "You do not seem to be very good with scary things." She looked him in the eye, secretly feeling slightly guilty about causing him discomfort.

The group now stared at Alfred, waiting for one of his never-ending explanations.

"Uh... Of course I can!" Alfred's smile seemed a bit too shaky.

"Right..."

"When and time?" Matthew spoke up, his voice barely a whisper.

"Hm, Saturday sounds good and... how about nine?"

"In the MORNING?!" Gilbert exclaimed, the yellow bird perched on his head chirping in protest. Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, dude. I really wanna get up at nine on a weekend."

Ravi elbowed the German for even thinking that, saying, "At night."

Gilbert tried to cover up his mistake by laughing, "I knew that! Ha! That was a joke!"

"Whatever," Elizabeta chortled. Gilbert glared at her as Roderich sighed.

"Okay, so we set?" Alfred asked, scanning the group.

The group nodded.

"Awesome." Alfred commented, eyes scanning the teens, "We've got ourselves a haunted house to go to."

**A/N:**

**Lolo: Hello, hello! We have brought to you yet another chapter~**

**Hatsu: We are going to have fun next chapter~**

**Lolo: it will be a blast! And it'll get me pumped up for Halloween! Woo! And guys. You have spoiled us with all these reviews and follows and fav's!**

**Hatsu: I'm so spoiled my teeth are gonna rot and fall out.**

**Lolo: Seriously. Where did all of you come from?! o.o**

**Hatsu: So many of the peoples...**

**Lolo: Hm... Any announcements before we bid farewell?**

**Hatsu: Be sure to go and check out our shared account, Hatsu and Lolo! We have a story up already so go read and review it! PLEASE.**

**Lolo: Indeed! Thanks so much for everything you all have done to support us and STM.**

**Hatsu: Thank you!**


	13. Hatsu and Lolo's OTP Hell

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: This chapter ends so perfectly, I'm putting the author's note up here so we don't ruin it. This chapter has a lot of POV-switching. It's also called "Hatsu and Lolo's OTP Hell" for a reason.**

**You've been warned.**

**xXx**

Saturday came by quickly and Kiku realized she still didn't have a costume. Meanwhile Alfred was doing an Avengers theme with Mathias who was dressing up as Thor and the American being none other than Captain America. That made perfect sense to everyone, and more than a few laughs had passed around when they announced the idea.

Kiku herself wasn't sure if she even wanted to dress up. She'd never really celebrated Halloween before, though Yuri and Ayame had tried to drag her to a few haunted houses. However, she knew it would upset Alfred if she didn't, so Kiku found herself brainstorming ideas. After nearly an hour of brainstorming that Saturday morning, she was close to giving up. She decided to look through her things, in hope of finding some form of inspiration. She honestly didn't have anything. Kiku sighed. Maybe Yao had an idea? She pulled out her cell phone and began typing in his number when the Chinese himself called.

"Kiku?" he said when she answered, "Lien and I need to buy some things for tonight, aru. Do you want to come?"

"Ah, yes, please!" Kiku replied, relieved, "Right now?"

"Yep. We're meeting outside the school!"

"Alright. I'll be right out." Kiku hung up and threw on a jacket. The weather was getting colder the closer they got to November.

She made her way down the steps of the dorm, running into Yao's roommate Feliks who was, as usual, cross-dressing and was dragging a brunette with him. She was apparently in the Pole's way, as he shoved the woman aside to get passed her. Feliks was running so fast that she almost missed the apology that the brunette boy had mumbled to her.

Kiku rolled her eyes, irritated by the blond, and continued her way to the rendezvous point.

She met Yao and Lien outside the main building of the school. After greeting each other, the three set off down the street.

"Where are we going?" Kiku asked.

"A consignment store a few blocks away," Lien answered, rubbing her hands together for warmth. "It specializes in Oriental clothes and things."

"That sounds good." Kiku gave her nod of approval.

"Then let's go aru!" Yao gestured for the two women to follow him.

"What are you dressing as?" Kiku questioned curiously. Yao and Lien shrugged in unison.

"I'm not sure," the Vietnamese girl answered, "I'll probably make an outfit out of things I see there."

"I think as long as we're wearing something we don't usually wear Alfred's satisfied, aru." Yao shrugged as they crossed the street.

"How did Alfred-san get you to participate anyways?" Kiku asked the duo.

"Well, he knows me, aru," Yao said, grimacing. "I think he wanted all of his friends to come."

"I was with Yao when Alfred showed up to talk to him," Lien added. "Alfred said 'Oh, you should come too!' so I figured I might as well."

"I see..."

"Ah, here we are, aru!" the group stopped in front of a rather small building.

"Well, let's go," Lien said, exasperated. "We'd better not make Alfred angry."

"Right."

They stepped inside the store and were immediately greeted with the smell of incense.

Yao wrinkled his nose. "What is that?"

"I'm not sure, but let's just do what we have to and leave," Lien said, and held her sleeve up to her nose. "It's not bad, but wow it's strong."

Kiku had made the mistake of taking a deep breath as they walked in, and was now wiping away the watery tears that had risen from the pungent scent. "I approve of that idea, Lien-chan."

Looking around, Yao asked, "The owner has to be around here somewhere. I bet we'll run into them, aru."

"Let's go look over here until then." Lien pointed towards an aisle full of apparel.

"Alright, aru."

The three of them walked down the aisle, slightly disturbed by the silence in the store.

"Hello!" The trio jumped at the voice that had come from behind and whirled around to see a short elderly Asian man, smiling big at them, "How are you today?"

"Um. Fine, aru."

"Good, good," the man said, "Cold weather for Halloween isn't it?"

"Yes." Lien wiped her palms on her skirt. "We're just looking around. Please don't mind us."

"Why would I mind?!" the man grinned, hurrying by their side, "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"We need a Halloween costume..." Kiku replied, sighing.

"Oh, I see!"

The three teenagers exchanged brief glances. He _had_snuck up on them, and was somewhat creepy.

"My name is Yoo Changhyun," the old man continued. "I'll be at the counter if you need me."

"Thank you," Kiku said, her voice nearly a whisper. She bowed slightly to the man and received a wide, toothy smile.

He took off down the long aisle to the front counter. Yao stared, "He has a lot of energy for someone his age, aru."

"Er... yes, he does."

"Let's just get this over with," Lien said. "The incense is making me feel sick."

The other two nodded and the small group split up, browsing the clothing racks. Kiku managed to find a male kimono in her size, which she was happy about, and figured all she had to do to make it a costume was add some sort of prop. In the back of the store, there were piles of random artifacts and Kiku managed to walk away with a dull-edged katana. Lien and Yao had purchased their things before Kiku and already had theirs wrapped. The Japanese woman decided to find out what they're dressing up as that night.

"We set?" Yao asked after Kiku had paid. The two women nodded and they turned to leave the store.

"Goodbye!" the Korean waved to them, "Have a nice day! Come back soon!"

Kiku, Yao, and Lien let out a collective shudder once they were out on the street.

"Well, what now?" Lien asked. "We still have a few hours until it's time to meet everyone."

"We could go grab some lunch, aru." Yao suggested to the girls.

"That sounds nice." Kiku agreed, feeling a bit hungry herself.

"Alright. Let's go, aru."

xXx

The sky was already dark by the time nine o'clock rolled around. Kiku could see Alfred's group gathered around the main doors of the school from her dorm window as she prepared to leave. As soon as she stepped outside into the cold night, Alfred waved for her to join them, "Kiku! Get over here, man!" Everyone was there already, and half of the group didn't look happy about the situation.

"Guys, we ready to go?" Alfred asked them, and got a muted grumble in reply.

"Okay! Let's go!" He decided that he'd be the one to lead them down the street to the haunted house. Along the way, many of the people participating were complaining to the other that they had better things to do.

Children were running around in the streets, wearing a wide variety of costumes. Kiku saw a kid dash by dressed as a roll of toilet paper. She blinked. Wow.

"Hey Kiku!" Gilbert slowed down his pace to walk with Kiku, Lien and Yao, "Check out my awesome costume!"

"Um...Gilbert-san, what are you?"

The German swished his cloak with a flourish. "I'm a Teutonic Knight! Duh."

"Er... that's nice."

"Yeah! So what are you? Some kinda ninja? 'Cause that would be pretty badass of you to be!"

Kiku shifted her grip around her katana. "Something like that."

"Awesome." Gilbert turned to Yao and Lien. Both of them were dressed in old-fashioned Oriental-style outfits.

"We're zombies, aru," Yao replied dryly.

"Huh?"

"Can't you tell?" Lien asked, smoothing some wrinkles out of her cheongsam.

Gilbert gave the two a hard stare, studying their costumes. His face lit up, "Yeah! I see it now! 'Cept you should work more on the way you walk and stuff."

Yao and Lien exchanged a look before shrugging.

"We'll try to do that, aru."

Ahead of them, Arthur was dressed as Sherlock Holmes. Lukas, Ari, and their group were in suits carrying realistic-looking guns, and Alfred and Matthias had made good on their promise of dressing as Avengers. From behind, Feliciano was, as he had continually told the group, a kitty while Ludwig was a Roman praetor. Mathew was dressed in an impressive red Mountie uniform, Ravi dressed as an Indian prince and Lovino...

Lovino turned around to glare at them, nearly halting Kiku in her tracks. He was wearing a knee-length nightgown, a pink shawl, large sunglasses, and he carried a very large assault rifle.

Kiku heard Yao choke on his saliva next to her, and Lien let out a disbelieving laugh.

"He's a grandma." Gilbert smirked at the Italian who was fuming.

"Ah,..calm down Lovino!" Antonio seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. He was wearing a huntsman costume, and the whole thing made sense then. "You're from the Red Riding Hood story, right?" Kiku asked, trying not to look amused.

"Si, we are!" Antonio smiled, happy someone caught the reference.

"That's creative."

"You don't have a Red Riding Hood though," Gilbert pointed out.

"Do we need to have one?" Antonio looked genuinely confused.

"Well, your costumes make more sense that way."

Lovino elbowed the Spaniard in the ribs. "Dammit, I told you so! I dressed like this for nothing!"

"Would rather have been Little Red?"

Lovino's cheeks colored tomato red, "No!"

"Alright then." Antonio skipped ahead and Lovino followed him, grumbling. As soon as they were out of earshot, Gilbert and Yao broke out in snickers.

"I don't even know how he got Lovino to do that!" Gilbert said in between laughs.

"It's a mystery, aru," Yao snorted, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Hey people!" Alfred's voice rang out over the many conversations. "We're here!"

The group stood and stared at the haunted house. It was more a mansion than a house, completely dwarfing Kiku's expectations.

"Shit, Ravi wasn't kidding when they said they used an abandoned home..." Gilbert breathed, eyeing the broken windows and peeling paint.

"This is huge." Kiku commented, frowning.

As if sensing the whole group's sudden hesitation, Alfred said, "Come on, it won't be that bad. All we have to do is go in, buy tickets, walk down some halls, and we're done."

After a brief silence, the group muttered an unwilling 'okay.'

"So we're all going to divide ourselves into groups of two!"

The group followed his instructions. Alfred bounded up to Kiku and asked, "Hey! You wanna be my partner?"

"A-Alright..." Kiku struggled to push down the small feeling of happiness that had risen up inside her. She caught Lien's eye and the Vietnamese girl smirked as she linked arms with Yao.

There were an odd number of participants, so Elizabeta ended up joining Ravi and Gilbert, irritating the latter. Kiku watched as pair by pair, everyone entered the haunted house. Alfred and her entering last, because he wanted to be sure nobody backed away. They went up to the ticket booth, purchased their tickets then stepped up to the front door.

"Ready?" Alfred asked her, his eyes shining with excitement.

Kiku nodded once. "We can go."

"Okay! Let's go!" He grabbed her arm, dragging her inside the building. The doors slammed shut and they were trapped in a dark room with nothing, but a candle to supply light. The air was stifling, and it was eerily silent.

"Everyone else must have gone in different directions," Kiku said softly, not wanting to speak any louder. Alfred swallowed nervously and nodded. He gripped Kiku's wrist, sending a sudden jolt of energy through the girl, and the two of them crept forward attempting to make as little noise as possible.

"S-so Alfred-san?" Kiku breathed, breaking the silence.

"Yeah dude?"

"Where's Alyssa-san?" Even talking about Alfred's girlfriend was better than the unbearable tension. Every step they took on the old wooden floor creaked loudly, sounding like gunshots in the stillness.

"Oh, um, she has schoolwork to do."

Kiku herself doubted that, but didn't argue it, "I see..."

The Japanese woman nearly jumped when she heard light footsteps from within the darkness.

"What's that?" Alfred squeaked, his grip on Kiku's wrist tightening painfully. The footsteps grew louder, coming closer. Without thinking, Kiku pulled Alfred forward down another hallway.

**xXx**

"Eliza, are you sure you know where you're going?" Ravi asked as the trio walked down a brightly lit hallway.

"Of course I do!" Elizabeta replied, firmly. Her confidence slowly deflated when a thumping sound was heard from inside one of the doors in the hallway.

"What was that?" Gilbert asked.

"D-do I look like I know?" the Hungarian girl huffed. "Maybe we should check it out?"

"Um, no," Ravi said sharply. "I'd rather not know."

"Chickee-een," Gilbert mocked, reaching for the door handle.

"Gilbert, seriously!" Ravi was hiding behind Elizabeta.

"Whatever," Gilbert rolled his eyes as he pushed open the door. The trio stood there, expecting something to jump out at them; nothing came. "Ha! See? Nothing to be-"

"Gilbert!" Elizabeta and Ravi jumped back, pointing at the large creature that stood behind the German.

He slowly turned around, his face paling as he saw what stood behind him. "Schieß."

The creature was hairy and too realistic-looking for the students. Gilbert whirled around, grabbed Elizabeta's hand and dragged her down the halls, leaving Ravi to chase after them.

"Guys! Wait up!"

"Sucks, Rav!" Gilbert called back, "Every man for himself right now!"

"Then why are you helping Elizabeta?!"

The German stopped running suddenly, causing said girl to collide with him. He turned and looked at her in confusion. "Why am I helping you?"

This gave Ravi time to catch up with the two. The Indian quickly recovered from the run and stared at the woman then at the albino, a knowing look on his face.

"I don't know," she jerked her hand away from his, cheeks slightly red, "I can take care of myself, you know!"

"Can you really?" Gilbert asked, raising his eyebrows. "Cuz I wouldn't want to be with a girl who needed saving all the time."

Ravi coughed. "Is now the time for this?"

Elizabeta ignored the Indian and instead aimed a hard look at Gilbert. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Um. Guys."

"Oh shit, well... I might, err..." Gilbert stumbled over his words, "I think you're awesome and pretty and..."

Elizabeta's angry look melted away into one of pure shock. "H...huh?"

"Yeah." Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but her.

"Guy!" Ravi said, even more urgently than before, "You might want to look behind us!"

The two others turned, and saw the hairy creature from before advancing down upon them.

Elizabeta looked from it to Gilbert, narrowing her eyes. Before anyone could react, she grabbed the German roughly by the collar, kissed him right on the mouth, then pulled him forcefully down the hall leaving a dumbstruck Ravi following after wondering what the hell just happened.

**xXx**

The two Asians walked up the staircase cautiously, ready for anything to come out at them.

"This haunted house..." Yao sighed, wanting to go back.

"How did we let Alfred talk us into this?" Lien asked, looking irritated. Yao shrugged.

"This place is a maze, and nothing's even happened yet," the Chinese boy said. "I think we wasted our money, aru."

"You think?" Lien agreed. The faint sound of screaming echoed throughout the mansion. Lien frowned, "Are we just missing the scary things?"

"I dunno."

"Let's just keep moving." Yao and Lien continued through the dark hall at a relaxed pace, neither of them very concerned.

"Do you think they're okay?" Lien asked suddenly. Yao glanced at her.

"Who, aru?"

"Kiku and Alfred."

"I'm sure they're fine, aru," Yao shrugged, "This isn't even-"

"Run!" someone yelped as they shoved their way passed the duo.

"Huh?" The two Asians watched in shock as Gilbert, Elizabeta, and Ravi bolted on ahead, running for their lives. They looked back and saw something that looked like a werewolf barreling down the hall after them.

"What is that?!" Lien asked, eyes widening in surprise.

"Who cares, aru?" Yao replied, gesturing for the Vietnamese to follow, "Let's go!"

They rushed after the three others, who seemed to be wearing down. Lien flashed Yao a grin. "Finally some action, huh?"

"We might get what we paid for after all, aru!" Yao grinned back. The two Asians caught up with the trio who had run into a dead end. Lien and Yao skidded to a halt and turned around to see the monster quickly advancing towards them.

"It's not like it's actually g-going to eat us, r-right?" Ravi stammered, the most pale.

"Chick-"

An ear piercing shriek was heard from down the hallways and the monster turned around in time to see the butt of a gun hit it in the face.

"Huh?" Elizabeta blinked with confusion that was shared by the other four as the werewolf ran back into the darkness, quickly moving out of sight.

"Lovi, I think you just hit a person in the face," came a familiar Spanish accent. The group turned to see Antonio and Lovino join them, Lovino smirking and straightening the lacy shawl over his shoulders.

"The bastard had it coming," the Italian said. "He shouldn't have been such an idiot."

"Where did you guys come from?" Ravi asked.

"We were down that hallway, and we heard you guys," Antonio answered, pointing to the left. "I can't believe how many hallways are in this place. It's way bigger on the inside. Anyway, have you guys seen anyone else?"

Yao and Lien shook their heads. "We've been alone this whole time, aru."

"I think we saw Lukas and Matthias' group while we were running, but I can't be sure," Ravi said. "Except for Matthias they're all in black, and it's dark in here."

"Hm." Antonio frowned. "Well, I think we're not supposed to travel in very large groups, so we should head off."

"Alright," Lien grabbed Yao's hand. "We're going to go this way."

The others said goodbye and the two Asians went up a flight of stairs on the right.

"That was interesting," Yao commented casually as they entered into a large open area.

Lien nodded. "If it keeps up like this then tonight will be more interesting than we thought."

Yao frowned. "It is strange though, aru. There hasn't been much around to scare us, just dark hallways and crashing into people."

"Maybe more things come out the longer we're in here? What are we supposed to do, aru?"

Her companion thought back to what the person selling the tickets had said. "We're supposed to make it outside through a back door or fire escape. No windows. In other words, aru, we need to find a way out that doesn't involve the way we came in. After an hour, the lights turn on to help us out."

"Hm." Lien hummed, deep in thought. "Well, if there's a back exit, then we need to go down again, but since we're already on an upper floor we could try to find a fire escape."

"In a house this big, there's bound to be one, aru," Yao replied. "It's probably why a big group such as ours is able to roam around without seeing each other."

"I suppose. So where do you think we should go?"

Yao glanced around the area. "We should look in some of the rooms, aru," he said after a pause. "There's probably an escape somewhere."

Each holding on to the other's sleeve to avoid getting separated, the two opened the doors to the rooms one by one and looked around them. More often than not the rooms were empty and filled with shadows, and they figured it probably wasn't worth it to examine further. All the windows they saw were boarded up, not leaving an opening for an escape. Eventually they made it to the end of the main hall, with the option of a staircase or the final door.

"Let's see if this one works, aru," Yao whispered to Lien, who nodded. Slowly, he inched open the door into a large bathroom. The place had a dim red light fixed in, and there was no shower curtain on the bathtub.

"Yao, what's that?" Lien breathed, latching on to his arm and pointing towards the bathtub. Yao followed her line of sight and his breath caught in his throat.

"That seems like a person hanging by the neck in the shower, aru," he said, his voice shaking. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the body came alive, letting out a shrill, ear-piercing scream. Yao and Lien jumped violently and stumbled out of the room, colliding with the opposite wall. It seemed the scream was the cue, for all down the hallway the doors to every room they had been in opened and various monsters poured out, nearly cornering the pair.

"Oh, what have we done?" Lien said weakly.

"We can apologize to the others later, aru, but for now we have to run for it," Yao answered firmly, grabbing Lien's hand and pulling her forward. They booked it up the stairway to the third floor, followed by the persistent monsters. Once they were up the stairs, the two teenagers ran full speed down the hall, until they came to the end.

"In here," Lien gasped, out of breath. She yanked Yao to the side and into a narrow doorway, slamming the door behind them.

The two sank to the floor, holding their sides and taking deep breaths. They could hear the sounds of the monsters moving by the door, and Lien reached up and turned the lock on the knob before slumping down next to her friend.

"We should…just hang out here for a bit, aru…" Yao panted, wiping his forehead.

"Sounds good," Lien agreed. "I wonder how the others are doing."

"I bet some are out already." Yao looked at his watch. "It's been half an hour, aru."

"And the lights turn on after an hour?"

"Yeah."

"Alright." Lien leaned against the wall. "So hey."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well…" Lien smiled a bit. "Kiku and Alfred."

Yao looked at her curiously. "What about them?"

"What do you think will happen with the two of them?"

The Chinese put his chin in his palm, considering the question. "Well, Alyssa isn't going to make anything easy for the two of them. She and Alfred are still dating, and she doesn't want to let go, aru. It's like Alfred's dating some kind of octopus."

Lien shook her head. "Alyssa is crazy. Eventually Alfred has to see that, and they'll break up. If Kiku just keeps doing what she's doing, then Alfred will return her feelings."

"But the problem is will Kiku tell Alfred the truth in the end? She's got a big secret to keep, aru," Yao pointed out. Lien nodded.

"I think she will. Kiku's nervous and shy about a lot of things, but she hates lying unless she absolutely has to. The guilt of lying to Alfred will eventually get to be too much and she'll let it slip somehow."

They laughed together at the image of that.

"Besides," Lien continued, "Alfred's too nice a guy to be angry about something for long."

"That's true."

The two were silent for a while, until Yao turned to Lien with a strange look on his face.

"Li, what about you, aru?"

The Vietnamese girl sat up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Um…" Yao twisted the hem of his sleeve nervously. "I mean, ah…do you like anybody?"

Lien stared at him. She turned a light shade of pink and stammered, "Uh…w-well, I hadn't really…thought about it."

"I have." Yao looked extremely anxious. "There's this girl I like, and I figured I should tell you, aru. I do a lot of things with her, and we've been friends for a long time and…"

"And what?" Lien whispered, eyes wide.

Yao was twisting his hands together so hard he looked about ready to break his own fingers. "A-And, I'm k-kind of hiding in a closet with her, aru…" He dropped his head into his knees. "Agh, this is so embarrassing, aru…I'm sorry…"

Lien was bright red now. She gaped at Yao, dumbstruck, and tried to process what he had just said. It was true they had been spending an increasing amount of time together, becoming more and more comfortable with the other's presence. In fact, Lien wondered if she didn't feel the same way about Yao as he did about her. That thought hit her hard, and Lien realized with a jolt that she did feel that way, and had been hiding it under the image that they were good friends, nothing more.

She turned back to Yao, who was still hiding his face. "Don't…apologize," she said slowly, still somewhat in shock. "Um…I'm currently hiding in a closet with the boy I like as well…"

Yao raised his head, his wide amber eyes meeting hers. "Are you serious, aru?"

Lien nodded, her throat very dry. "I'm serious."

It was suddenly very hot in said closet, and the two fidgeted uncomfortably.

"W-we can talk more about it later," Lien said, reaching her hand out to the Chinese, "but for right now we should get out of this stupid place. I think the lights have come on."

**xXx**

Kiku thought the haunted house experience was exactly like the scary movie experience, only multiplied times ten. Though she was about a foot shorter than Alfred and a good deal thinner, the American was hunched behind her, gripping the back of her kimono and whimpering. He was too afraid to walk very quickly, so they were progressing at a snail's pace through the haunted house.

"Alfred-san," Kiku said for what seemed like the hundredth time, "we need to find an exit, and to do that we need to move faster."

She felt Alfred shake his head behind her. "Haven't you heard the screams this whole time? Dude, if we move fast then they'll hear us!"

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" Alfred was seriously trying Kiku's patience.

"I do! I really do!"

"Then listen to what I say. You can hold onto my wrist if you need to, alright?"

Alfred had her arm in a deadlock immediately. "S-so which way are we going?"

Kiku looked up and down the hall. They had heard noises from several floors up, but she and her partner were still only on the ground floor. "We're still down low. There's likely a back door we can go out of. That way we don't have to go through the whole place, and there are probably less scary things down here." She added the last comment intentionally, knowing she would get Alfred's full cooperation if he knew the risk was lower.

Alfred straightened up and adjusted his glasses. "O-Okay. We can do that." He gulped loudly.

Kiku sighed and pulled him forward. "Just follow me."

They heard footsteps running on the floor above them, far too many to just be one person. Shouts followed, giving the impression that someone was being chased. Alfred gave a terrified squeak and his grip on Kiku's wrist tightened. She gritted her teeth; Alfred was strong and Kiku, well, wasn't, so his hands sent a jolt of pain up her arm. She didn't bother trying to convince him to loosen them, though. Kiku could tell Alfred was far too frozen with fear to comply.

The pair continued down the maze-like hallway. Alfred refused to open any doors and see if they led to the outside, so the walk was fairly uneventful.

"This is too scary," the American said, his eyes squeezed shut. "Nothing's happening. The suspense is killing me."

"Would you rather we get chased by something?" Kiku asked absently, still looking around for the exit. Alfred shook his head adamantly.

"No way! Nothing is better than something."

Kiku mentally rolled her eyes. Distracted by Alfred and her own efforts, she didn't notice the trap until she walked over it. It was a rope crossing the hallway, and she nearly fell over tripping over it. Alfred lunged forward to steady her, and in a split second a dark shape crashed down from the ceiling and smoke began billowing out from the corridor ahead.

"Aw, shit," Alfred whispered, his voice rising several octaves. The two of them stood frozen as they watched the figure rise out of the shadows covering the floor and slowly make its way towards them. The visibility in the hallway was quickly becoming restricted, the fog reaching up to the ceiling.

"What do we do?" Kiku heard Alfred say. She stiffened, waiting to see what the figure was and if there was a way to push past it. If a trap was set to blockade the participants, then its purpose could be to steer them away from the exit. They needed to get past the figure and make their way outside.

"Alfred-san," she said quietly, making sure he was listening, "we need to push past that thing. If we run quickly enough then we can do it."

"No way, man." Alfred's teeth were audibly chattering. "I'm up for just turning around and climbing out a window or something."

"We can't do that. The windows are boarded up." Kiku turned to look the American in the eye. "Alfred-san, I need you to trust me, alright?"

He hesitated, then swallowed again and nodded once, briefly.

"Okay. I'll just follow you then, dude."

Kiku grunted her approval, then gestured for him to follow. She crept closer to the wall, moving towards the open space between the figure and freedom. Once they got closer, they were able to see exactly what it was.

"…Huh?" Alfred said, confused, "It's an alien."

Kiku blinked. "What is an alien doing in a haunted house?"

"I dunno, but I'm gonna call it Steve."

'Steve' didn't seem in the mood for waiting for them to make the first move, and began walking towards the pair. Alfred hollered in shock when it began to move, grabbing Kiku's hand and taking off in a dead sprint down the hallway, shooting past Steve at a speed Kiku didn't realize was possible. They dashed down the dark hall, rounding a corner before stopping.

Kiku bent over to catch her breath, clutching the stitch in her side. "T-That was too fast, Alfred-san…"

"Sorry, Kiku," Alfred answered apologetically.

"It's alright. We got past—"

"Wait!" Kiku was cut off by Alfred, who seemed to be listening hard. She realized suddenly that he still hadn't let go of her hand, and felt herself heat up.

"Do you hear that?" Alfred asked. Kiku listened after he fell silent, and could just barely make out the sound of footsteps coming closer to where they stood.

"Steve's coming!" Alfred took off running again, pulling Kiku behind him. They went around another corner, moving through the maze-like area. Kiku stumbled occasionally, not able to match her roommate's inhuman speed. Eventually, they did stop again, a far enough distance from where they started that they would be able to rest a bit more.

"This is insane," Kiku groaned, leaning against the wall in exhaustion.

"No, this is Sparta!"

The Japanese girl stared flatly at Alfred, who grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I had to do it."

Kiku didn't have the opportunity to reply, for at that moment a shattering scream rang throughout the house. Alfred jumped a foot in the air, cursing. His toe caught against the corner of the wall, and he fell forward. Kiku rushed forward to try and steady him, but his weight was too much for her.

They ended up with her hands on his chest, Alfred's hands on her shoulders, and—it was impossible for Kiku to digest the last fact—their lips touching together.

They stood frozen like that for an infinitely long moment, until Kiku's mind shut down all the systems in her body and her legs gave out from underneath her.

Alfred didn't react in the slightest, and remained solidly in the same position as though the Japanese girl was still standing in front of him. Kiku collapsed onto the old wooden floor, laying there staring at the ceiling and trying to get her breathing back under control.

She had just kissed Alfred.

Accidental or not, that _had_ just happened.

_I…kissed…Alfred…_

"…Kiku?" she heard dimly above her. She didn't have the breath to answer. Alfred continued anyway. "Uh…uh…I think…I feel some wind blowing….the back door's probably really close…"

"…Alright," she found herself saying, and raised her arms automatically. "Could you help me up, please?"

Alfred didn't respond, but grabbed her arms and pulled the small girl to her feet. They walked to the door in silence, retaining a wide distance between their two bodies. When they found the back door, cold air rushed over them and Kiku breathed deeply, relieved to be outside again.

Most of the group was waiting out there already. Kiku and Alfred joined them, the former immediately heading over to where she saw Yao and Lien standing, looking just as embarrassed as she felt.

Lien noticed Kiku's pale, trembling form, glanced at Yao, and said, "We'll tell you what happened with us if you tell us what happened with _him._" She tilted her head in Alfred's direction. Kiku nodded wordlessly.

It didn't take long for another group to come stumbling outside. Gilbert, Ravi, and Elizabeta came thundering down the fire escape, Ravi looking hopelessly confused. Gilbert and Elizabeta were hand in hand, grinning widely. When Gilbert saw the rest of the participants, he fistpumped the air victoriously and said loudly,

"Did _anyone_ else get to second base in there?"


	14. Confessions

"Let's walk." Lien suggested after Gilbert's outburst. She lead Kiku down the road, far enough so that the three were out of ear shot. She finally asked, "Kiku, what happened in there?"

Kiku felt herself heating up, and she coughed awkwardly. "Y-You...you should go first."

"Huh? Why?"

"It's, er..." Kiku trailed off, averting eye contact.

Yao quickly replied before Lien could, concerned, "What happened?"

Kiku hid her face in her hands. "It's...u-um..."

"I've never seen you so flustered." Lien smiled. "We're not going to make fun of you, you know."

"Agh. Just, go first, please?"

"Alright, aru," Yao gave in, grinning. "Lien and I are together."

Kiku stared at the two, unsure what to say at first. In fact, there was a brief silence that had taken place making the two waiting for a response feel rather uncomfortable.

A smile broke out on Kiku's face, "Really? How did this happen?"

"Well, it really started when we came out of the closet," Lien started, and was cut off by Yao's laughter.

"I...see?"

"We confessed to each other in a closet." Yao explained in-between laughs.

"I'm happy for you two."

"Now you need to tell us what happened between you and Alfred!"

Kiku groaned. "I'm not sure I can faithfully explain it. All I can say is..." She began fidgeting, looking extremely uncomfortable. "W-We might have, accidentally, k-ki..."

"Kissed?!" Lien exclaimed, startled.

"On accident!"

"How do you do that on accident, aru?"

"Alfred-san, um, tripped..." Kiku bit her lip, "and I tried to catch him."

"Really?!" Lien's mouth was agape.

"Yes."

"So instead of him falling for you... he fell on you?"

"...Yes."

Lien blinked, her eyes widened slightly. "Well...okay. How do you feel about that?"

Kiku covered her face again.

"You room with him, are you just going to avoid him, aru?" Yao asked the Japanese woman.

"As long as I can."

"No, don't do that." Lien replied.

Kiku peeked out through her fingers. "Lien-chan, I can't do this. I'll die."

"No, you'll be fine," the Vietnamese answered firmly. "Besides, you can't tell me you didn't enjoy it just a little."

Between the small gap in her hands, Lien saw Kiku grin.

"We should head back, aru," Yao pointed out, checking his watch. He then glanced at Kiku and half smirked, "You need to talk to Alfred."

"But... what if he-"

"Rejects you?" Lien finished, arching an eyebrow at the girl, "it's Alfred. And I can tell he likes you. He'll just put you down nicely."

"What?!"

"We're making her nervous," Yao said, trying to hide his smile. "We're not helping her at all, aru."

"I'm sorry." Lien apologized.

"It's fine."

Kiku bid the other two goodbyes and headed back to her dorm. Alfred had evidently, to her relief, decided he still had things to do and wasn't in the room. She changed into pajamas and went straight to sleep, not wanting to confront Alfred right away when he returned back to the dorm. Before she dropped off, Kiku could help but wonder if Alfred had ended up secretly liking the kiss the same way she did.

xXx

Alfred frowned as he walked down the sidewalk, his hands stuffed in his the coat he had brought with him. He was, without a doubt, confused. Kiku and him kissed. It's as plain as that.

That wasn't why he was confused, of course. Why would he be puzzling over whether or not it happened? No, Alfred was seriously confused about his feelings on the matter. For starters, he was adamantly telling himself it was an accident. Kiku obviously hadn't meant to do such a thing; hell, the boy had practically passed out when it happened!

He crossed his arms to keep warm. The kiss itself. Did it mean anything to him or even Kiku? That's what Alfred was trying to decide.

Another thing. Alfred had a girlfriend. She had her flaws, but while Alfred was a bit thick sometimes he wasn't truly stupid. He could see her problems, and did his best to help her work past them. He knew a lot of people didn't liked Alyssa, but he wanted everyone to get along. He didn't want one or the other, Alyssa or his friends.

Alyssa heavily disliked Kiku. The Japanese had told Alfred that firsthand, and he refused to believe Kiku would lie, about anything.

This whole situation was far too complicated for Alfred's liking. In the end, he supposed it came down to one question: Did he enjoy that accidental kiss, or didn't he? If he didn't, then fine, nothing would come of it.

However, if he did enjoy it...that scrambled everything around. Alfred would have to work out his feelings for both Alyssa and his roommate, which led to another thing. He was straight...as far as he knew. If he liked that kiss with Kiku, that changed things a bit. He was conflicted. What was he to do? He decided to find Alyssa who said she would be getting help with her schoolwork in one of the classrooms. Maybe by just being with her, he can figure these feelings out. Alfred checked his watch. Ah, man. It was one of his stupid moments. It was around midnight; Alyssa would be in her dorm sleeping rather than in a classroom doing work. Alfred would find her in the morning.

Speaking of, he should probably head back himself. A shortcut back to his dorm would be to cut across the school garden. He made a sharp turn towards the garden. Alfred wanted to get some sleep. He hurriedly returned back to his dorm, not wanting to confront his friend.

If Kiku even was his friend still after this...

Alfred slapped himself. He should not be thinking like that! He sighed heavily and headed back to the boys' dorm, unlocking and opening the door to his room quietly in case his roommate was already asleep.

Thankfully, Kiku was fast asleep. Alfred, relieved, changed out of his costume then went straight to bed. He didn't think he would be able to fall asleep, what with the way his mind was turning, but Alfred managed it in the end. He awoke unusually early for someone who would rather sleep in until noon. He decided that he needed to talk to Alyssa as soon as possible. He really, really needed to sort out his mess of feelings. He dressed quickly, not wasting any time. To his surprise, Kiku was still sleeping. The Japanese boy was usually an early riser.

_He must've been really tired..._

Alfred ran out the door, shutting it quietly, then hurried outside. Where would his girlfriend be at this hour...? She had been spending an unusual amount of time doing extra schoolwork, so maybe she was in her classroom already? Alfred frowned. It was kind of strange how much time Alyssa was using. Then again, he knew her parents gave her a hard time about her grades. He set off towards the school building, determined to find Alyssa. Alfred pushed open the school doors and walked down the long hallways. He stopped midstep when he heard the faint sound of a moan.

_Huh?_

It was coming from a nearby room. Alfred walked a few more steps hesitantly, wondering if he really wanted to know. Well, it probably wasn't anything bad.

He poked his head around the doorway, and froze at what he saw.

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.

On Zuckerberg's desk laid Alyssa, lips locked with none other than the teacher himself. The two were so into what they were doing that they hadn't seen Alfred standing there, watching them.

_Maybe Zuckerberg made a move on her_... Alfred tried telling himself desperately. However, he knew that wasn't the case. He could tell just by looking at the blond girl that it was an action given equal effort. He turned around and left without saying a word.

Alfred walked quickly down the hall, mind whirling. What the _hell _was that?

His girlfriend... or... what. He didn't even know what to think anymore. She had cheated on him. On him! For some teacher who shared a name with the guy who created Facebook! Alfred didn't know how he knew that, but there it was.

Oh god. What was he supposed to do now? He dragged his feet outside the school building, beginning his way back to his dorm. Should he talk to anyone about this? But who would he tell? Alfred really couldn't think of anyone at the moment, except... No, he shouldn't. Talking to Kiku after seeing...that...might only serve to confuse him more. Besides, Kiku was probably still sleeping.

He could go see Arthur. That guy's usually awake at six in the morning no matter what day it is. He took off towards the boys' dorm to Arthur's room. Once he reached the door, he pounded onto the wood repeatedly, not caring who he woke up. The door opened, and a girl rushed out running a comb through her hair. Francis followed her, pleading in rapid French.

Alfred stared, eyes widened in shock, before shaking his head and inviting himself in. Arthur was, indeed, up with a cup of tea and the newspaper in hand, looking unfazed by what had just happened. Alfred blinked. "Uh...what was that?"

"I'd prefer you not get on my nerves, Jones, I was kept up all night because of those two."

"O-oh, uh..." Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, "Arthur..."

"What is it now?"

Alfred sighed heavily. "This is really hard to say, and explain, and stuff, but you're the first person I could think of to talk to..."

"Get it out, then."

"Kiku and I might've kinda accidentally kissed?" Alfred said in one breath, trying to get it off of his chest as fast as he could. Arthur raised his eyebrows.

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Uh..." Alfred's chest tightened painfully. Just as quickly, he said, "And Alyssa and her teacher might've kissed a whole lot on purpose?"

"I knew that it would come to that." Arthur frowned. He gave the American an apologetic look, not seeming surprised at all.

"I don't know what to do..."

"There's not much I can tell you," Arthur said, sounding truly sorry, "some bad things just happen, and some bad people cause them. I should know, I room with a Frenchman."

"Come on!" Alfred's voice held a pleading tone. "It's like that one Harry Potter book where Ron hooks up with that one chick to make Herman jealous, and Harry and Herman are in the room with the birds and Harry helps her out! You gotta do what Harry did!"

Arthur stared at him with a dumbstruck look, and took a moment to splutter into coherency. "First of all, I think you mean Hermione. Second, Ron was _only_ dating Lavender to make Hermione jealous! These situations are totally different! Alyssa clearly has an ulterior motive to accomplish by snogging that teacher. At least I think so."

Alfred groaned and facepalmed. "You're not helping me at all! I need you to give me advice or some shit_! I don't know what to do!"_

"I suggest you go talk to Kiku and sort out your feelings," Arthur recommended, taking a casual sip of his tea.

"Wait, what?!"

"After you break up with Alyssa first, of course. You shouldn't hang on to that one after this."

"Oh..." Alfred stood up, "Right... I'll do that right now, I guess."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, man." Alfred waved goodbye to the Brit, feeling a bit sick. He was going to confront Alyssa and find out what was really going on. He raced back to the classroom where Alyssa, thankfully, wasn't with Zuckerberg. It seemed he had left the classroom momentarily. She was standing near the window, fingers trailing on the sill and the morning light catching in her long blond hair. Alfred swallowed.

"H-Hey, uh, Aly? I mean Alyssa."

She glanced over at him, what seemed like fake innocence in her gaze, "Oh, hello Alfie!"

"We need to talk."

She stared, "What is it?"

"Um...I don't really know how to put this."

Alyssa took one of his hands. "What is it, Alfie? It can't be that bad."

Alfred pulled away, feeling a low, burning anger in his chest. Of course she would act dumb. "Don't call me Alfie," he said. "We're not dating anymore."

"What?!"

"I saw you with Zuckerberg."

Alyssa's eye widened, looking like a deer in the headlights. She quickly regained her composure and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" Alfred snapped. "Don't pretend! I saw you guys in here earlier! I don't know if you did any more than just make out, or when, but I do know that's enough. We're done."

"I... you weren't supposed to see that!" Alyssa glared at Alfred, "Besides, it was for my grade."

"Grade or not, it's over."

"You're leaving me for Kiku... aren't you?" she accused.

"What?" Alfred said, startled. "Kiku has nothing to with this."

"Liar!" Alyssa shrieked, losing it. "I knew that little snot was going to mess things up! This wouldn't even be a problem with you if HE wasn't making you actually think about things!"

"Stop it!" Alfred retorted, "Kiku hasn't done anything!"

"Like hell I care anymore!" she threw her arms up in the air in defeat, "He's on your mind more than I am!"

Alfred clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. "Well that's not a double standard at all! Exactly how much time have you been spending in here, cheating on _me_?!"

"Oh, you really want to know, 'Alfie?'" Alyssa leaned in, almost smirking at the American, mocking him with a burning, wicked look in her eyes, "After school every day and sometimes into the night."

"Wha...you..."

"Yep," she grinned. "And I'm going to keep at it. But that's not a problem, is it? After all, we're not dating anymore, like you said. You don't care what I do."

"You're right, I don't." Alfred replied coolly, "I actually believed that you cared for me..." He shot the woman a cold glare.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"I don't care," Alfred repeated, beginning to back out of the room. "So...have fun with that."

"Oh, I will." Her eyes glinted at him victoriously. "And I don't believe you'll tell anyone, either. I know you're too nice for your own good."

Alfred didn't have anything to say to that, and he didn't want anything. He swallowed the furious shout rising in his throat and instead turned on his heel and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

xXx

Kiku woke up to the warmth of the sunlight shining through the windows of the dorm room. She noticed that she had slept in longer than she usually did and sighed. This day was going to be strange; she'd have to eventually confront Alfred and...

She froze, now noticing the American sitting on his bed, looking furious.

He was staring right at her, and naturally Kiku felt a bit concerned.

"Alfred-san?"

"H-Huh?" He snapped out of his reverie, blinking in confusion. "Oh, you're awake...shit."

"Er... yes." Kiku nodded, "Is... everything alright?"

"No, everything's not even remotely okay."

"...alright. May I ask what's wrong?"

Alfred raised his head and stared her in the eye. "You should know, but at the same time you really don't want to. I'm so mad right now too, I could punch something..."

"I see..." she shifted, "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

"But I need to."

Alfred took a deep, steadying breath. "Alyssa cheated on me. With a teacher."

Oh. Alfred was right. Kiku really did not want to know.

"I'm sorry," Kiku murmured, feeling uncomfortable.

"It's not your fault," Alfred said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "It's hers. But...you do have a part in it."

Kiku glanced up, "What?"

"Well, see..." Alfred hesitated, looking anywhere, but Kiku.

"Alfred-san, I won't know if you don't tell me."

"I know, okay?!" Alfred dropped his head into his hands, looking ashamed of his outburst. "I'm just...really confused right now. I know how I feel about Alyssa now, and I don't. Feel about her, I mean. I don't like her."

"So what are you confused about?"

The American leaned forward. "You."

Kiku's cheeks immediately colored pink, "I-I apologize about what happened last night and it will never happen again and... er..."

"You don't need to apologize..."

Kiku wiped her hands on her pants. This was not a situation she would have expected to find herself in. "S-So, you're confused about me, how?"

Alfred jumped up and began pacing around the room, looking more agitated by the second. "See, here's the thing. When I was dating Aly- I mean Alyssa, I really liked her. Then you came along, and I started really liking you, but I thought it was in like a bromance way or something. Then, we kissed and I think I actually really enjoyed that. And then this morning I broke up with Alyssa. So, I'm not dating anyone and I liked kissing you, but we're both boys, and-"

He suddenly halted mid-rant and his arms fell limp. Kiku was sitting on the edge of her bed, numbness spreading through her body. What was he saying...?

Alfred mouthed a few silent words, staring deep into space until he found his voice again. "Everything makes so much sense now."

Kiku remained silent, waiting for the American to continue. She was in shock, she didn't actually believe that all of this would happen. To _her_ of all people. She finally spoke up, hoping to prompt him, "I-it does?"

"Yeah," Alfred answered distantly, sounding bemused. "I wonder how I didn't figure it out before."

Kiku's mouth was very dry. "What?"

"Kiku..." Alfred walked over to where she sat. "I've decided. It doesn't matter that we're both guys."

"...huh?" Her heart was thundering painfully in her chest, but she felt cold all over instead of hot.

"Kiku, I decided. I really, really like you. Like, _like_ you."

That was it. Her body couldn't take this. Kiku went limp and slid onto the floor, barely managing to remain in a kneeling position. "I see," she said weakly, in a voice that did not sound like her own. "That's good, then."

"It is?" Alfred looked incredibly nervous, staring at her with the lonely-puppy eyes that made the Japanese girl want to hug him.

Kiku gave him a small nod, "Y-yes. I..." She felt as if her heart was going to pound out of her chest, "like you, too."

**A/N:**

**Lolo: Hello, hello! Lolo here for just this small part, because I'm going to be gone at Kumoricon when Hatsu posts this fluffy chapter. So yesh. Hatsu will do the rest of the AN now :P**

**Hatsu: So here I am, forever alone. Okay.**

**Shit has gotten real, guiz.**

**I will enjoy watching all your rage in the reviews :D**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**

.


	15. Revelations

"Whoa, seriously?!" A large grin spread across Alfred's features. Before Kiku could even nod, he had thrown his arms around her and pulled the small woman into a hug. Kiku's heart pounded in her chest, and she raised her shaking arms to wrap around Alfred's torso. This was unbelievable; to think she had gone to bed thinking about avoiding her roommate for the rest of the year. Could she pursue this relationship disguised though? How would Alfred react when he does eventually find out her true gender? She bit her lip, a feeling of guilt weighing down on her. She should tell him...but was right now a good time? He was just getting over Alyssa's betrayal; how would he take another?

She decided that she would wait for a better opportunity. Alfred let go of her, "So... I guess I should ask you out or something..."

_This can't be happening..._ Kiku felt as if this were a dream.

"I-If you want," she stammered, blushing furiously. Oh wow, Kiku was really not good at this. Alfred cleared his throat and smiled a bit nervously.

"Um, how does the park sound?"

"Fine." she managed to say in reply.

"Great!" Alfred's eyes lit up, sparking him into action. He grabbed Kiku's hand and pulled her towards the door. "Consider this a trial date!"

"W-wait! Right now?" Kiku asked, surprised by the spontaneous gesture.

"Well yeah! It's Sunday morning, we've got all day it's sunny and..." he frowned, "I need sunglasses."

"...What?"

The American frowned, searching around the room. "Hm, I can't find them. Well, I guess I don't really need them. Let's go!"

"Ah, alright."

He took her hand and pulled her down the hallways, smile never leaving his face.

The couple ignored the strange looks that were given from their classmates; Lien had given the woman thumbs up from where she sat, Alyssa was gawking at them, looking quite enraged. Alfred simply plowed across the campus, completely disregarding any other acquaintances they met along the way. Along the way, Alfred stopped at food stand and bought a a dozen of hot dogs, shocking the man running the register.

"Alfred-san, what are you doing?" Kiku asked, also fairly stunned. What were they going to do with all those?

Her roommate glanced over his shoulder. "Oh sorry dude, did you want one?"

...those were all for him?

Alfred paid for two more hot dogs, assuming the Japanese woman wanted a hot dog. He carried the food in a brown bag and again grabbed her hand and pulled her with him.

She stared at the food blankly. "What are these things made of?"

"Whaddya mean?" Alfred blinked, "It's meat."

"What kind of meat?"

"...I don't know."

Kiku swallowed. She wasn't sure she wanted to eat these, but it would be rude otherwise. She sighed and unwillingly unwrapped the foil of the foreign food. Just as she was about to take a bit, Alfred grabbed her wrist, "Wait!"

"What...?"

"You need toppings! You can't just eat one with no ketchup or mustard!"

"Can I eat one of these anyway?" she asked before she could stop herself. Well, Kiku didn't even know what was in the stupid things!

Alfred gaped at her. "Haven't you had a hot dog before?"

"No."

"WHAT?!" Alfred shouted, looking quite shocked, "I... How?!"

Kiku poked at the sausages sullenly. "They aren't everywhere in Japan and they've never looked too appetizing..."

"Kiku! Haven't you ever heard 'don't base a book by its cover?!'"

"...I don't think that applies to food."

"Sure it does!" Alfred flailed his arms.

Kiku sighed. "This date doesn't seem to be off to a good start..."

Alfred's cheeks flushed with red, "Oh. Um. Sorry."

Equally red, Kiku said, "Please don't apologize...it's more my fault..."

"Nah, you don't have to try it." Alfred muttered, flopping down on the grass, finishing his fourth hot dog. He pointed up at the sky, "That cloud looks like the Slender Man."

Kiku blinked then glanced up.

"...the what?"

Alfred shuddered. "If you don't know, I'm not explaining it."

Kiku lay down next to him on the grass, gazing up at the sky.

"I used to do this with my parents." Kiku smile softly at the memory.

Alfred bit his lip, contemplating whether to ask Kiku his question. He hesitated, a nervousness twisting in his chest. "Kiku...can I ask you a question?"

She glanced over at him, curious. "About what?"

"Your parents."

She felt the familiar pain hit her heart, "Yes."

"What were they like?"

Kiku swallowed dryly. "Ah...well, my father was a journalist, and my mother was an elementary school teacher."

"That's cool." Alfred was silent for a moment. "What was it like, with them?"

"They were kind, always there for me..." she paused, trying to keep her voice steady, "we were happy."

Alfred shifted. "Look, I'm really sorry for asking. I shouldn't have..."

"No, it's alright." Kiku turned and gave him a small smile. "I suppose it's good to talk about these things. I haven't really, since they died."

"Yeah..."

"What about you?"

"Huh? Me?"

"Yes. What are your parents like?"

"Hm." Alfred stretched back and stared at the cloud formations in the sky. "Well, my dad's an actor and my mom's his agent or something. Apparently that's how they met."

"Ah, I see."

"They're never home. I think they shipped me here so that I wasn't alone with the nanny." He frowned.

"I see."

They went quiet then, the final question still hanging in the air. Kiku knew what it would be, and realized she wasn't afraid to answer.

"...Hey Kiku?"

And there it was.

"Yes?"

"Your parents...how did they die?"

When the Japanese girl didn't answer right away, Alfred immediately went on the defensive. "I'm sorry! I really shouldn't have asked that one!"

"It's fine." she quickly replied, then fell silent, "It was a head-on collision. We were on our way home from my martial arts class and it was raining hard..." She let out a long breath. "A driver coming the other way slipped on the road and into our lane. I was in the backseat, so I was fine, but..." Kiku trailed off when she realized she was shaking, her hands cold and pale.

Alfred took one look at her and pulled her into his arms. She was crying. She hadn't cried this hard for years. The last time she did, there was no one there to comfort her. Now, she did have someone. Someone who cared. She curled into Alfred's side, wiping her eyes and focusing on the rhythmic motion of him rubbing her back. It occurred to her that this probably wasn't a very masculine thing to do, but she didn't care.

Kiku made up her mind. She was going to tell Alfred her secret once they got back to the dorm. She didn't know how he would take it, but she refused to lie to him anymore. Not after this.

She finally leaned back from him, eyes red from the tears. He watched her, looking concerned. "You okay?"

"Yes." She coughed a bit. "Thank you."

Alfred nodded silently and put his arm around her shoulders. He reached for his last hot dog, noticing a woman sitting on a bench close by. She was wearing a glare that was directed at them.

_Alyssa..._Alfred shot the woman a dirty look. Kiku hadn't noticed, and so was surprised when Alfred suddenly stood up and began walking away, pulling her along with him.

"A-Alfred-san? What's wrong?"

"We're going back," he replied tightly, a muscle twitching in his jaw.

Kiku's heart plummeted. Already? Was she ready to tell him? She had made up her mind, but...no. It was too late for second thoughts. The longer she put it off, the harder it would be. The walk back to the dorm was quiet, the closer they were, the more nervous Kiku felt. How would he take it? He would probably hate her...he had to. Kiku felt sick to her stomach, wondering if she would throw up even if she hadn't yet eaten anything that day.

As soon as they entered the room, Kiku sat down on her bed, unsure how to say it.

"I can't believe her," Alfred hissed, slamming the door. "Can you?"

It took Kiku a moment to respond, distracted as she was. "...Huh?"

"Alyssa!" Alfred threw his arms in the air. "She was sitting there watching us."

"Oh... I didn't see her." Kiku fidgeted, glancing down at her lap.

"She was sitting on the bench near us!"

"O-Oh..."

Alfred looked at her strangely. "You okay?"

It was time to start being honest.

"No."

He suddenly looked worried, "What happened? You know you can tell me right?"

"You're...not going to be pleased." Kiku began trembling again. "You will probably hate me, actually."

"What?!" Alfred actually looked insulted. "I don't think anything you can say will make me hate you."

Kiku blushed, "Y-you see, I, er, have a secret."

"A secret?" Alfred stared.

"Y-yes, it's rather big and only Yao, Lien and Ravi know."

"Why Ravi?" the American looked genuinely confused.

"He found out on accident." Kiku was shaking so hard she felt like her teeth might chatter out of her skull.

"So... what's your secret?" Alfred asked. Kiku stood up and directed him to sit down.

She promptly took a seat back on her bed, "I'm... not what I appear to be."

"Kiku, just tell me." Alfred was irritated.

"I'm not a male." Kiku blurted out, avoiding eye contact, "I'm a girl..."

There was a very long pause, and Alfred's eyes looked ready to bug out of his head. Then, finally he said weakly, "...you serious?"

"I a-apologize." Kiku murmured.

Alfred spluttered. "You...you're kidding. You have to be, right? I mean, there's no way you're a...I haven't been rooming with a..."

Kiku nodded silently, any words she wanted to say remaining lodged in her throat. Alfred stepped away from her, his eyes glued to his face as if he were hoping for any other answer.

"So...you lied?"

That was the worst thing he could have said. Kiku felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes, and she couldn't stop them from welling up and pouring down her face in endless streams.

"You've been lying to me this whole year." There was anger in the American's voice now, and Kiku flinched. He didn't wait for her to say anything and instead continued with, "And today. You didn't even tell me then. Or when you had any other opportunity to."

Kiku's hands clenched into fists, and she bobbed her head once, afraid that if she spoke all that would come out was an unintelligible shriek.

Alfred surprised her, though; when he spoke next, there wasn't any emotion in his voice. Quietly, flatly, he asked, "Why?"

The Japanese girl brought her sleeves up and pressed them to her eyes. "I had to," was all she was able to gasp out.

She was too occupied with trying to get her tears to stop than to see Alfred turn stiffly and borderline sprint out the door. But Kiku was able to hear as the door slammed into the wall as he threw it open, not bothering to close it in his haste.

He left her alone in the room, trying to swallow her sobs and figure out what she was supposed to do now.

**XxX **

"Yao, get out, I need space!" and with that the door was slammed in Yao's face. Apparently, Felicks was throwing a fashion show and wanted to get ready, taking up the entire room for himself. The Chinese rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs, bumping into Alfred as he went down them. Yao apologized immediately and the American didn't respond, instead he stalked outside.

_What's up with him?_

He shrugged and continued on his way, trudging down the stairs. What would he do with his time? Lien had a test she needed to study for, so that was out...maybe Kiku was free. Yao had seen her leave with Alfred earlier, but he had just seen the American by himself, so Kiku was probably alone too. Yao turned and headed back up the stairs in the direction of her room. He knocked on her door then waited patiently. He heard shuffling and sniffling before the door cracked open, "H-hello?"

"Kiku?" Yao asked, pushing the door open further. There was a little resistance, as if the Japanese girl didn't want to let him in, but the door opened fully in the end and Yao stepped inside. "Is everything alright?"

"A-Alfred-san," her voice cracked and more tears began to run down her face.

"What?"

"I..." she swallowed, wiping her eyes. "I told him."

"You did?" Yao stared, putting the pieces together, "he didn't take it well...?"

"No."

Kiku covered her face with her hands, and Yao realized he had never once see her so upset, or even showing so much emotion. This even had really shaken her up.

She sniffed and whimpered, "What do I do?"

"You don't do anything." Yao instructed sternly, "You stay here."

"What?!"

"I'll be right back." Yao was furious.

He turned and stormed out of the dorm, calling to memory the direction the blond had been going.

Okay, yes, Alfred had discovered some serious things today, but in Kiku's case he could have at least tried to find out why! He raced down the staircase then went to a full sprint out the door, searching for the American.

_Where could he be?!_ Yao frowned, scanning the campus. He finally spotted Alfred sitting on a bench, head in his hands. Feeling the anger boil inside him again, Yao marched purposefully up to him.

"Alfred."

The American looked up at the sound of his name and his face met with Yao's fist. His hands flew to his face in disbelief, "What the hell was that for?!"

"What the hell do you think it was for, aru?!" Yao hissed, grabbing Alfred by the collar and pulling her forward. "I don't know what happened to you today, but I don't remember you leave a girl to cry and beat herself up alone for being honest, aru!"

"Honest?!" Alfred stood, jerking his shirt out of Yao's grip. "She's been lying all year!"

"And you've never thought that there might be a damn good reason?!"

"I don't need one. I'm sick of being lied to." Alfred replied coldly.

"She was lying to everyone, Alfred," Yao retorted, "It wasn't just to you. She needed to get into this school."

"Well..." Alfred, for the first time, seemed at a loss for words. Yao sighed irritably and sent him a glare.

"Don't take it so personally, aru. At the very least, at least try to find out why she did what she did."

"And I suppose you knew from the start?"

Yao snorted. "You should have seen her reaction. She wasn't planning on telling anybody, I just guessed correctly."

"Really?" Alfred stared at him, almost doubtfully.

"Yes, now go apologize, aru," Yao pointed him in the direction to go.

"No, I'm not doing that." Alfred shook his head.

"...Do you want me to punch you again?"

The two boys gave each other a hard look, each too stubborn to give in. Then, without warning, Yao sent his fist into Alfred's gut. While the American was doubled over, gasping for breath, the smaller Chinese grabbed a handful of his shirt and began dragging him to the dorms.

"Yao, let me go!" Alfred shouted. Students passing by stopped and stared at the duo, clearly amused by this.

"No, aru!"

"Dude! I'm not kidding!"

"Neither am I! You're not getting out of this!"

"Look-"

"Do you care about her?"

"Wait, what?" Alfred blinked, completely thrown off by the question.

"You heard me." Yao narrowed his amber eyes. "Say no, and you will receive a kick to the balls this time, aru."

"I do!" Alfred responded swiftly, then repeated softer, "I do... but..."

"But what?"

"She lied. And for an hour I thought I was bi."

Yao stared at him incredulously. "That's your issue?"

"Uh..." Alfred scratched the back of his head, tripping slightly as Yao pulled him sharply forward once more. "No, that's not my problem! My problem is-"

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to Kiku." They had arrived at the room, and Yao opened the door and shoved Alfred roughly inside. Alfred stumbled, nearly falling as he tripped. He glanced over, searching for his roommate; he finally saw her small figure curled up in her bed.

"Kiku?"

Her face was planted in her pillow, and she didn't answer. Alfred suddenly remembered the way she looked the night of the failed date, as she was unconscious on the sidewalk. He pushed the memory down. It was not the time for it. He swallowed. Why was he suddenly so nervous?

"So uh...Yao wanted me to talk to you. Do you want to?"

"No," came the muffled voice, sounding thick with stifled tears. "Leave me alone to die."

Alfred blinked. That was the sort of thing he would say.

He approached her bed, worried, "Kiku, we need to talk. I'm not leaving until we do."

"Shut up," she replied flatly.

"Wh-what?"

Wow, she was really out of it.

"I tried to talk to you," she continued. "Why do you suddenly want to?"

"I was threatened with pain," Alfred responded flatly. "Let me tell ya, for such a small guy Yao really can hit hard."

She sat straight up, shooting him a glare. Her eyes were puffy and red from her tears, her hair a mess. "I don't doubt it."

"Why do you choose to show your emotions now?" Alfred snapped.

She threw a pillow. Alfred batted it out of the air easily. "I just don't care anymore," she said darkly. "I'm going home."

"Fine, whatever, I don't care." Alfred shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant and was succeeding. He waved, "Have fun back home." He opened the door to leave; only the see Yao standing across the hall, arms crossed and with a wicked death glare.

Alfred shut the door.

"On second thought, maybe you shouldn't make hasty decisions..."

He saw her already cleaning out her drawer to pack her bags. "Wait, Kiku, stop packing!"

"Leave me alone," she retorted, "I hate you."

"...wow, that was quick. You're acting like a little kid!"

"You don't want me here anyway!"

"And how do you know that?" Alfred crossed his arms.

"You came in here unwillingly. Yao-san had to force you to talk to me."

Alfred coughed. "Okay, that's true. But I really do wanna talk now!"

Kiku slammed her drawer shut. "Fine."

She turned around to face him, "What do you want to talk about, _Alfred?"_

"You. Us. The entire story on why you lied."

He didn't miss the fact that she had left out his -san.

Kiku lowered her head and spoke in short, clipped sentences. "I needed to get into this school. They didn't have any room for girls."

"How long did you think you could keep that up?!" Alfred demanded.

"As long as I could."

Her dark eyes stared into his. "You should know that I never told anyone else. They found out on their own. You're the first."

Alfred stared, now noticing her feminine features. He quickly averted eye contact, "Whatever."

"If you'll excuse me, I have a suitcase to pack."

"Whoa, hold on." Alfred reached forward and grabbed her elbow. "Listen, we haven't gotten anywhere."

"Clearly."

"...but you're not acting like yourself. Come on, just calm down, please?"

"How can I calm down? I was happy today. I wanted you to know that I'm a girl. And you were furious- you still are. You left." she replied bitterly.

_Girls,_ Alfred though desperately. _Suddenly this is a really bad situation. _He realized with a start that he really, really did not want Kiku to leave. Despite the fact that she had lied, he was beginning to see where she was coming from.

"Okay, that's a start. But I was upset because I found out Alyssa lied, then one hour later you spring this big thing on me...it's a lot to take in, you know?"

What the heck? Kiku was supposed to be the therapist. What was Alfred doing being the mature one? He had a strong need to explain himself, hating the broken and untrusting look in her eyes. Alfred had never felt a desire to erase that look in anyone, not even Alyssa. That had to count for something, right?

Kiku eyed him sullenly and, after a brief hesitation, nodded once.

"So, I'm sorry about hurting you." Alfred concluded, waiting for her response.

She let out a long sigh, "I forgive you. But I'm still leaving."

"What?! How come?!" Alfred gaped at her, wondering what he said wrong.

"Well..." She chewed her lower lip. "I can't stay in this room anymore, can I?"

"Sure you can!" Alfred jumped up and grabbed her shoulders. Kiku flinched but didn't pull back. "You can stay! You haven't told anyone else so you can keep pretending, right?"

"Yes."

"Then don't go." Alfred pleaded, wearing his puppy eyes. "And if it counts for anything..." He grinned sheepishly, "I forgive you too."

"I never apologized..." she said out of realization. She stepped back and bowed, "I'm sorry, Alfre-"

Her words were cut off by Alfred. The American had leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she felt herself leaning into Alfred as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Finally, they broke the kiss. Alfred grimaced, "I hated that fight. Promise me we won't fight like that again..."

"That was an interesting fight," Kiku commented, pulling her fingers through her messy black hair.

Alfred pressed his mouth against her forehead. "You're not going anywhere."

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: I skipped lunch to update this...ZZZ...**

**If it seems rushed, I apologize. Lolo and I were up late last night writing it, and it was a school night so we had to get it done...**

**News!**

**I have created a Facebook page, also called Hatsu Yukiya, where I will be posting things like what I'm working on and ideas I have and things like that. If you're interested, please go like it! It'll be much more entertaining when I can interact with my readers directly :3 It'll be fun!**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	16. CrossCross Dressing

Alfred had cuddled with Kiku accidentally. Arthur had told him so, early on in the school year. He had also slept in her bed, that one time. But this...this was a new situation. Kiku had never fallen asleep on him before.

Exhausted from crying and the emotional stress of the day, even though it was barely afternoon, the Japanese girl had leaned against him and was out in minutes. Now Alfred was sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall as he balanced her in his arms. He watched her as she stirred in her sleep. To think all that has happened today. He had discovered his girlfriend cheating on him, discovered he had feelings for his roommate who turned out to be a girl and now they were together.

He frowned at the thought of Alyssa crossing his mind. No, he should forget her. Would that be possible? Though they had broken up, in a pretty dramatic fashion, she still seemed like she was thinking of him. That much was evident from the stalking earlier that morning.

Alfred sighed. He would love it if Alyssa would leave him, and Kiku, alone. Although the likeliness of that happening was small. The woman never stopped until she got exactly what she wanted.

His head thunked against the wall hopelessly. Honestly, he was thinking about this too hard. Alfred was the type to just deal with problems as they came.

To distract himself, he looked down at Kiku's sleeping face. She was pretty, he realized, more so now that he knew she was a girl. Before Alfred figured she was a super-effeminate guy. He couldn't help but wonder what she looked like before she cut her hair and disguised herself. He smiled to himself, mentally noting to ask her when she woke up if she had any pictures. Well, he assumed she had long hair. Girls liked long hair, right? Some guys too.

At the thought of long-haired guys, Alfred wondered if Yao was still lurking outside the door looking murderous. There hadn't been any shouting and neither of them had tried to leave, so maybe the Chinese had gone home?

Alfred shrugged. Whatever. He'd find out later. He felt movement under his arm and returned his attention to Kiku who was slowly regaining consciousness.

She looked around blearily, blinking a few times before sitting up. "I fell asleep...?"

"Yeah, you just passed out." Alfred shrugged again.

She then realized where she had fallen asleep, her eyes widening, "Ah, I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about. You're cute when you sleep."

She turned slightly pink and arranged herself into a sitting position.

"H-how long was I asleep?" she asked quietly.

"About twenty minutes." He lay back on the bed. "Oh."

They sat in silence for a moment before Alfred cleared his throat. "So, uh, hey."

She glanced at him. "Yes?"

"You cut your hair, right?"

She brushed a hand through her short hair and nodded, "Yes."

"Do you have any pictures? I mean, I was just wondering and all..."

Kiku thought for a moment. "I think I do. They are probably on my laptop. I could pull them up."

The American grinned. "Yeah, that would be great! I wanna see!"

She cracked a smile then stood up to get her laptop and boot it up. She returned back to the bed and waited for the computer to completely turn on. When it did, she rifled through her pictures. Most of them were from various anime, to Kiku's embarrassment, but she did have a few good pictures taken with or by her friends. "Here."

Alfred was right behind her, taking in the image before him. She was beautiful. His eyes darted from the girl sitting beside him back to image, comparing the two. There really was no difference, aside from the hair length. Although...

"How come you're wearing the kimono stuff and your friends aren't?"

Kiku coughed. "I don't know...my parents liked traditional things like that. When I was at home, they were what I wore all the time." She paused, suddenly looking shy. "I still do...it's a habit."

"Did you bring any with you?" Alfred looked up from the computer.

"No," Kiku replied with a sigh.

"Oh well. So...what now?"

Without waiting for an answer, Alfred jumped off the bed and got down on his hands and knees, looking under the door. "His feet are gone. He left." He suddenly bolted upright. "Wait. Yao has Spiderman powers or something. Maybe he's climbing the walls."

Kiku stared at him, waiting for Alfred to realize what was wrong with that logic.

"…Huh. I guess that wouldn't work out."

"No."

"But anyways!" Alfred drawled, "You know what we should do?"

"What?" Kiku was a bit concerned by the overly-excited look on her roommate's face.  
"A date! Y'know, a REAL one! One without Alyssa stalking or life being awkward!"

Kiku thought about it. "We've had a lot of dates already..."

"I know, but still! This time we don't have any secrets!"

"I suppose. It sounds fun."

"Yeah, but one condition."

"Hm?"

Alfred grinned wickedly. "Wear a dress. You have to."

"B-but what if I'm caught?!"

"You won't be!" Alfred grabbed her hands and bounced like an ecstatic child. "Look, you borrow one from one of your female friends or something and we'll go eat somewhere faaar away where nobody can see us!"

"Alfred-san..." she had this feeling of doubt still running through her. If she were caught, that would be the end of her life at Hetalia World Academy.

"Come on!" He gave her the pouty look she was beginning to realize she couldn't resist. "Pleeeaaase?"

Kiku bit her lower lip, and then sighed. "Alright. I'll try."

"Yes!" he pecked a kiss on her cheek, "We should do it tonight since everyone will be busy doing last minute homework and catching up on sleep and shit."

"I suppose I'd better ask Lien-chan..."

"Yep! Oh man, this will be fun."

Kiku pulled out her cell phone and texted Lien immediately, a warm feeling within as she typed out the question.

"I'm going to figure out where we can eat!"

She nodded with a smile. "Alright."

Within seconds, Lien had replied, giving her permission to come over and pick a dress. Kiku's smile widened as she turned to inform Alfred, "She said yes."

He fistpumped. "Awesome! Let's do this!"

Kiku laughed a bit at his enthusiasm. He was a lot of fun to be around.

"Let's get our homework done first." Kiku suggested, always putting school first.

"Okay!"

**xXx**

Kiku hadn't ever been in a taxi before. In Japan, she either took the bus or walked everywhere she went, and she usually hated cars. But because Alfred had neither a car or a license, and the two needed to go all the way across town, they were nestled in the back of a bright yellow automobile that Kiku instantly disliked. Taxi drivers were crazy, she decided, and were for some reason allowed to disregard every traffic law ever made. Lien had lent her a modest dress that was just to her knees. She hadn't worn anything feminine in so long that she had felt embarrassed walking across campus with Alfred keeping watch. She was used to being, well, a guy.

Kiku wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, considering the circumstances.

She sighed and leaned absently against Alfred's shoulder, not thinking about what she was doing. It wasn't until she caught him staring at her that is registered.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Alfred-san!"

He laughed. "Dude, what are you apologizing for? I love it. Normally you're big on the personal space thing."

The taxi driver arched an eyebrow at the two, a knowing look crossing his features. He shook his head to himself, thinking, _Young love._

"Ah, r-really?"

"Yeah."

Kiku blushed. "Um...alright then..."

Alfred grinned, draping an arm around her shoulders. "You're so cute."

Her blush darkened, "Thank you." she glanced out the window, "How far are we going?"

"I told you we're going far!"

"Yes, but that doesn't exactly answer the question," Kiku pointed out.

Alfred gave an exaggerated groan. "Kiku. Maaaan. Liiiisten."

"To what?"

"You don't want to get caught right?"

"Er... no."

The teens heard a throat clear, and looked up to see their taxi driver looking at them with suspicion in the rear-view mirror.

Kiku paled, catching on to the taxi driver's thoughts, "I, er... I didn't do anything." Not looking convinced, the driver returned his eyes to the road. Kiku facepalmed.

The rest of the taxi ride passed in silence, before they pulled up to a large, expensive-looking restaurant.

Kiku's jaw dropped. Alfred had failed to mention to her exactly what restaurant they were going to. She was close to protesting. However, she lost whatever argument she was going to make when she saw the American hand the taxi driver a huge wad of cash. He reached out to pull her out the car door.

"Come on, this'll be great!"

Kiku wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.

She allowed him to lead her through the heavy doors of the building. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the odor of fresh baked food. Kiku was blinking, trying to adjust her eyes to the lighting of the room. This...this was high-class. Kiku couldn't even wrap her mind around how expensive this date would be. She had never been into a place so beautiful and pricey. She glanced down at her attire. She felt underdressed.

Alfred, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease, walking confidently up to the host and requesting a table for two. Immediately the host took the couple to a table at the corner of the restaurant. Alfred helped Kiku into her seat then went to his.

"What do you wanna eat?" he asked.

Kiku shrugged. Though she knew Alfred could afford it, she had a deep-laid sense of trying to save money. Splurging on food seemed unreasonable to her. Kiku shook herself, trying to ignore that for the time being. She picked up the menu, examining it, searching for the cheapest dishes. She winced; these prices were incredibly high. Kiku decided to begin a conversation, "Thank you for dinner."

"Yeah, of course! You don't have to thank me or anything. I want this relationship thing to work."

Kiku looked down at her hands. "Yes...I do, as well."

"So hey, um, I was wondering how long you've liked me?" Alfred asked, locking eyes with hers.

It took a split second for Kiku's complexion to turn from normal to bright pink. "W-Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just curious."

Her hands twisted in her lap. Kiku knew the answer, but lacked the nerve to say it. "That...that one night, when..."

"When what?"

She coughed dryly. "You saved me."

"That long ago?" Alfred asked, staring. He hadn't expected that answer.

"Y-yes."

"Then you avoided me."

Kiku's head plunked onto the table. "You were dating at the time."

Alfred blinked. "That's true. Hey, I wonder how long I've liked you..."

"I'm not sure." Kiku replied, as if the question were directed at her.

"Hmm..."

Alfred snapped. "I got it. I think I realized I had suppressed personal emotion towards you-"

Kiku blinked. Those were big words, ones he could have picked up from her psychology textbook.

"-after I saved you, and we were fighting that morning over whether you would go to school."

Huh. When he had pinned her to the bed.

Kiku smiled, "Around the same time then."

"Yeah!"

Kiku giggled, and the sound was enough to make Alfred's face light up. She so rarely laughed; he realized he wanted to hear it more often. Alfred joined in with a laugh, "Y'know, I really like you."

"I like you too, Alfred-san."

Alfred leaned in over the table and kissed her then. Once the kiss broke, Kiku's heart was pounding out of her chest. She still couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Alfred's eyes met hers, and after staring at each other both teens broke into a huge smile. She was happy. Extremely. She wished that they could stay like this forever.

"Well jeez," Alfred sighed, leaning back. "This is way better than anything I did as a kid."

This caught Kiku's attention as she set down the menu, "What?"

"Huh?"

"You said that this was better than anything you did as a kid," she pointed out, curious.

Alfred shrugged offhandedly. "Yeah. I didn't hang out with a lot of people when I was little."

Kiku blinked. "Why is that?"

"I wasn't allowed outside of the house so most of the time, the only person I could talk to was the nanny."

"Nanny...?" Kiku had never had one before. Her family was never fortunate enough to afford one. Not that Kiku ever really needed a nanny, when she had two parents who were always home when she was. And after they died, Mai checked up on her regularly. She felt a sudden stab of sympathy for Alfred.

Alfred nodded, "Yeah, my parents were rarely home."

Kiku took a long sip of her water in front of her, processing this information.

"They were usually out filming movies and stuff," he continued nonchalantly. "I'm too old for a nanny now but she still hangs around anyway."

"I-I see."

"Yeah, but the thing is, my parents seemed to think that just buying me whatever new thing came out would make it up for not being home." He put his chin in his hand. "And now, because of school, I'm never really at home either. Even in summer I hang out at Artie's place or something."

Before Kiku could reply, he had already went on, forcing a smile, "But they do come visits sometimes. And they're great. I mean, I don't hate them or anything, but sometimes when they're even at home, they would take their work with them."

"I'm sorry," Kiku said genuinely. She knew personally how lonely not having your parents around was, and couldn't imagine having that feeling for your entire life.

"Kiku, it's fine. It's not your fault." Alfred quickly changed the topic, "So what're you getting?" He pointed at her menu.

Kiku blinked at the sudden change of conversation. "Ah...the ravioli looks good, I suppose..." It was the cheapest thing on the menu, so what the heck?

"Cool," Alfred nodded. "I think I'm gonna get this steak thing."

"Alright," she replied, setting the menu down in front of her, spotting the waiter coming over to their table. They ordered their food and sat back again, falling into a comfortable rhythm of conversation. Kiku couldn't remember the last time she had been so at ease with another person, and was glad that person was Alfred.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: Mmm, romance. Enjoy it while it lasts, things may get painful soon.**

**Lolo: That's right, everyone. Getcha romance while you can.**

**Hatsu: Soak it iiiin.**

**Lolo: Like a sponge.**

**Hatsu: Like Spongebob. Soak it in and go like my Facebook page /**_**shot.**_

**Lolo: Oh my gosh, Hatsu... XD But yeah, do that.**

**Hatsu: *cough* But yeah, future chapters are gonna get pretty intense. You know we're less than ten chapters away from the end of this story?**

**Lolo: I will be horribly sad when it ends. But on the bright side, Hatsu and I had like a lot of fan fiction projects that we plan to do. And a story idea, too.**

**Hatsu: Yep! And we still have all our individual stories to work on.**

**Lolo: That's right! I'm finally beginning to update my things again. *lazy authoress all summer***

**Hatsu: And here I've been updating most of my stories (sorry Tradition readers) every few days. Laaaazy Lolo. Anyway, here's some fun news: We are the third most reviewed and followed Ameripan story. If you go to the Hetalia archive, put in America and Japan as the character filter, and sort the stories by review count, we're right near the top of the list. And it's because of YOU awesome people!**

**Lolo: That's right. You guys have managed to reach Prussia's awesomeness meter. I mean, that's pretty damn good, right?**

**Hatsu: That is the highest level of ascension. Careful you guys don't explode from the sheer amount of epic.**

**Lolo: Got that? Good!**

**Hatsu: Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Lolo: Byeee!**


	17. Relationship Advice and Excess Prussians

Early Monday morning, Kiku and Alfred had both agreed it would be better if they kept their relationship a secret, though Kiku was planning to tell Lien and Yao about her day. Since the two Asians had pushed her and Alfred together, it only made sense that they should hear it officially. She was hurrying on her way to school, feeling quite bubbly that day.

Kiku headed straight to the cafeteria, hoping to find the two sitting together. Yao and Lien seemed to be happy too, since they had started dating. Now it was rare to see one without the other. For once, life seemed perfect in their group. She found the two just leaving the cafeteria, giving her the opportunity to grab them.

"I need to tell you two something, though I'm sure you already know," Kiku said when they turned around.

"Let me guess, aru," Yao smirked, crossing his arms."You and Alfred are together, finally?"

Kiku nodded.

"Yep, we already knew," Lien said flippantly.

"I thought so." She couldn't hold back the small smile.

"Are you guys going to hide it?" Yao asked. Kiku nodded again.

"Yes, we figured it would be best not to call unnecessary attention to ourselves."

"That sounds good." Lien gave her approval.

The bell rang as soon as she said this. "Alright, I need to go to class." Kiku waved her friends goodbye and went up to math with...Zuckerberg. Though she hadn't been there to witness it, Alfred hadn't skimped on the details when it came to describing the scene. She kept her head low as she entered the classroom, feeling a much different atmosphere than before.

It might have been her imagination, but Kiku could have sworn she saw the teacher glaring daggers at her.

This almost burst her mood seeing the teacher, but she tried to remain upbeat. She quietly took her seat, ignoring the look from her teacher. Antonio looked confused, thinking the glare was directed at him.

"Zuckerberg seems kinda pissed, si?"

Kiku silently agreed.

He rested his cheek in his palm, trying to figure out why the teacher was angry. Finally, Antonio shrugged it off and instead scratched doodles over his notebook.  
The class was long, agonizingly so, and Kiku breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. If the rest of the day was going to be like this, maybe she should cut early...

She shook her head, mentally slapping herself. Alfred was influencing her too much. Perhaps it was just the fact that she felt Zuckerberg was going to do something during said class that would cost her life at Hetalia W. Academy. She must be paranoid.

She stood up to gather her things then froze when she heard Zuckerberg, "Honda, can I see you after class?"

It sounded more like an order than a question.

"Y-Yes sir," she said, nervous and quiet. What was this about?

"How are you doing?" the teacher asked, arching an eyebrow at the student.

The man was acting far too casual for Kiku's comfort. "I'm well," she replied, palms slick with sweat. "I'm sorry sir, but what is this about?"

"You know about the, hm, incident, shall we say, that happened yesterday?" he asked, arms crossed.

"Er, yes."

That was the _wrong _thing to say. Kiku immediately backpedaled, "I-I don't know anything about the details, or..." Oh man, she was a bad liar.

"Either way, Honda," Zuckerberg leaned in so that he was inches away from her face, "If you say one word about what happened, you're going home."

Kiku bit back a terrified squeak. "Yes sir," she choked out, inching around the teacher closer to the door. As soon as she was able, she bolted.

Heart pounding from fear, she raced down the hallway to her next class, literally running into Gilbert along the way. He didn't even seem to notice the girl at first, headphones in his ears and singing loudly, "Disco pogo, dingalingaling! Dingalingaling! Alle atzen sing! Disco-Oh hey, Kiku."

He blinked at how pale she was, "Everything okay?"

"Oh, ah, yes." she averted eye contact, refusing to tell him what happened.

The German frowned. "You sure? Because you kind of look like you're gonna puke."

"Yes, please don't worry about me. We should head to class."

"Okay..." he replied, hesitant. He quickly brightened, "Hey, did I tell you about me and Elizabeta?"

Kiku recalled back to the night of Halloween. "No, but I figured it out."

Gilbert laughed loudly. "Well yeah! It's not like it's a secret. Turns out she and Roderich weren't even dating in the first place."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah! They're just good friends or something." Gilbert grinned.

"That is good."

"Uh-huh." Gilbert let out an uncharacteristic sigh. "Seriously, this is great, even if she likes punching me a little too much."

Kiku had to smile at this. She could see Elizabeta doing that.

"Oh, Ravi wanted to talk to you."

"Hm? Why?"

"Dunno." he shrugged as they approached the classroom, "he just mentioned that he needed to talk to you."

Ravi wasn't in their class though, so Kiku had to wait until later to find the Indian boy and see what he wanted. Psychology class didn't drag unlike Math. It was rather fun, actually. Gilbert even had stopped trying to talk to her to turn his attention to the teacher. It seemed he was getting more into the subject than he had originally intended, something that actually highly amused Kiku. As soon as class had ended, Gilbert was found talking nonstop about that day's subject.

There were a few minutes left before her next class started, so Kiku headed off to see if she could find Ravi. Prior she left, she had asked Gilbert where Ravi's next class was. It turned out the Indian was heading in the same direction she was, making things easier for her. She managed to find the boy exchanging his books at his locker.

"Ravi-san, you wanted to see me?"

The Indian jumped violently and dropped the book he was holding. "Aaagh! Make some noise when you move!"

Raising her eyebrows at his clearly high-strung nerves, Kiku apologized without feeling very sorry. She wasn't exactly in a charitable mood.

"A-Anyway, I need you for something important," Ravi said after he calmed down.

"Alright." she nodded, prompting him to continue.

"Ah, I need some advice for... this girl that I kind of like." He took a sudden interest in his locker, looking through it.

A lot of people seemed to want to confess their feelings lately.

"Who is she?" Kiku prompted.

"Gilbert and Ludwig's cousin."

Kiku stared, never having seen her around, "Cousin?"

"Her name is Julia and she's transferring to this school this winter," he continued, "she was taking a tour of the campus yesterday."

"Ah, I see."

Kiku thought back to her vague knowledge of the German language. "Ah, how do you spell Julia?"

"J-U-L-I-A, but you pronounce the J differently, like a Y."

"...I see. What is she like?"

"She's, well, loud and a bit arrogant sometimes, but she's kind and you can tell she cares for her friends."

"So..." Kiku thought for a moment. "Just like Gilbert-san, then?"

"Huh?" Ravi actually looked startled about the comparison, then laughed lightly. "Yeah, I guess you could take Gilbert and turn him into a girl, and have Julia. They even look similar."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, she's really pretty." Ravi smiled as he remembered the woman's features. His expression switched to a frown, "I need your help, though, what with you-" he lowered his voice to a whisper, "being a girl." The minute bell rang, and Ravi looked increasingly desperate. "You're a girl and all that so you know what girls like, right?!"

"I've never met Julia-san..."

"I know, but just generalize for me! You are literally the only one I can talk to!"

"What about Elizabeta-san?" Kiku was, truthfully, not the best with these sorts of things.

"Kiku, please?" Ravi bit his lip.  
Kiku sighed heavily. "Alright. But we have no time right now."

"Right, right. I'll see you later."

Kiku turned to go to her next class, finding Alfred not too far up ahead. She quickly sped up her pace to talk to him, glad to see the American.

"Oh hey!" he greeted, giving her a bright smile. Kiku returned it, the anxiety brought on by Zuckerberg's threat melting away for the moment.

"How are you?" she asked as they started down a second hallway.

"I'm good. Today's kind of a slow day, though." He shrugged.

"Yes, I agree."

"Oh well." Alfred smiled widely. "It'll get better once school gets out."

Kiku felt her heart skip a beat, "Yes."

The two opened the doors to the classroom and quickly shuffled to their seats. Classes were mercifully short after that, and Kiku went to lunch feeling much happier than when the day began.

She walked with Alfred to the lunchroom and straight to his usual table where Gilbert and company were seated. Kiku had sent a quick text to Lien explaining where she was, and the Vietnamese girl had replied with something so suggestive that Kiku's faced burned when she recalled it.

It was best not to think about those things.

She quietly put her phone away, tuning in to hear Gilbert announce, "Hey my cousin is coming to Hetalia W. Academy."

"You and Ludwig have a cousin?" Antonio and Francis looked surprised, and Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Everyone has a cousin, dipshit," he said to Francis, who looked hurt.

"When, exactly, is she coming?" Ravi asked, trying hard to look casual.

"I don't know." Gilbert took a bite of his food, "Could be this week, could be next year."

Alfred laughed. "Dude, you don't know? Isn't she your cousin?"

Gilbert waved a hand lazily. "Eh, ask Ludwig if you really wanna know. I don't care."

Elizabeta looked like she was trying not to laugh. "He's trying to act nonchalant because he and Julia have an ongoing rivalry that goes back to since they were three."

"Rivalry for what?"

"Everything," Gilbert and Elizabeta said together, the former looking extremely irritated.

Ravi did as Gilbert had said and slipped away from the table to find Ludwig. Gilbert didn't notice. He continued, "But yeah, she's coming."

"What do you mean by everything?" Antonio asked.

"Literally everything," Elizabeta answered. "Gilbert filled me in. It's an anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better kind of thing"

"And for the record I am better at everything! And Julia likes to cheat! But yeah, I'm the _awesome one!"_ Gilbert said the last sentence loudly, leaning back and crossing his arms. The smug moment only lasted a moment, as he leaned back too far and ended up falling off the back of the bench.

Elizabeta was first break into a laughing fit followed by everyone else. Even Kiku couldn't keep a laugh from leaving her lips. Gilbert rolled his eyes at the group, obviously annoyed, "I meant to do that."

"Sure," Alfred snickered. "Damn, I can't wait to meet this Julia chick."

"Whatever." Scowling, Gilbert took his place at the table and picked morosely at his food for the remainder of the period.

Soon the bell rang, signaling for everyone to clean up and get to class. This meant P.E. with Alyssa.

Yay.

Kiku clenched her jaw resolutely. If she stayed on the boys' side of the field, close to Alfred, she would be fine. Though the weather was cooling quickly the further they went into November, there were still a few warm days where the students would be put outside. Lately they had been playing softball, a sport at which Kiku performed dismally, but other boys in her class, and some girls, usually more than picked up the slack.

She scooped up her things and walked with Alfred to the locker rooms, dreading having to see or hear Alyssa whine. After this morning's incident with Zuckerberg, she wasn't sure what Alyssa would do. Once she got out onto the field, however, it quickly became apparent what Alyssa would attempt when put into close proximity with the Japanese girl.

Nothing.

Confused, Kiku watched as Alyssa shot her furious glares and sometimes obscene hand gestures, but that was all. It was surprising and, frankly, fairly unsettling. Alyssa had to be planning something else, right?

She awkwardly tried to keep her distance, getting used to the woman. She had even gone so low to glare over at Alfred when they locked eye contact. The American didn't seem to notice as he hit twelve consecutive home runs, securing the victory for his and Kiku's team. Immediately the team crowded around Alfred, cheering. Alyssa didn't seem surprised. She knew that he would win. But that didn't stop her from flipping them off.

Before long, it was time to go to Service. Ravi beckoned her over once he saw her come into the classroom and, sparing a glance at Alfred, Kiku headed to him.

"What sort of advice do you need?" She immediately went straight to the point, continuing off of the previous conversation.

"Anything! Dating, how to ask a girl out..."

"Why do you think I know these things?" Kiku asked, genuinely curious. Alfred was literally the first relationship she had ever been in.

"I, um..." he let out a shaky breath, "I trust you more than Elizabeta. And I don't talk to many girls."

"Elizabeta-san and Julia-san sound like they would get along well," Kiku commented.

"Yeah, they would! That's the problem!" Ravi groaned. "Come on, you're female, you should be like some fountain of answers!"

Kiku disagreed. "Ravi-san, I think you should just be yourself. Speaking from experience, nobody will be very happy if you lie about who you are."

"I'm just afraid she's going to hate me once we talk," he mumbled. "We've met before, but…"

"Think about it this way, Ravi-san." She hoped this would reassure him, "if Julia-san is like Gilbert-san then she should like you. You're good friends with Gilbert-san?"

"Yeah..."

She smiled. "There you go."

Wow. Kiku was on a roll today when it came to handing out information.

"But still—"

"Ravi-san, you're a very kind person. I don't see why you're worried," Kiku interrupted, wanting to finish this conversation. After all, they had to get to work on cleaning the school.

Ravi's head fell into his hands and he mumbled, "Fine..."

She gave a nod in his direction and turned to get to work waving goodbye. She went back to Alfred who was wiping off desks.

"I'm back, sorry..."

"What did he want?"

"What?"

"What did he want?" Alfred repeated, this time slower.

She blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Ravi!" Alfred flailed. "He called you over and you went over without saying anything and then..."

Oh. Alfred was jealous. The realization hit Kiku hard, and she stared at him in stunned silence.

Then—maybe it was from the stress of earlier that day, during math and gym, or the fact that Alfred has his facts completely wrong—Kiku couldn't help but burst into full-on laughter.

A lot of the class turned and stared; seeing the Japanese give more than a small smile was rare enough, so the sight of her, or rather, him, bending over, clutching her aching sides and gasping for air, was completely unheard of.

Alfred spluttered. "W-what's so funny?!"

"Y-you!" she managed in-between laughs. Alfred stared, completely confused.

"Me?"

"Yes!'

"I don't see anything funny about—"

"S-Stop!" Kiku gasped, lapsing again. "You're making it worse!"

"Uh... okay?"

Alfred waited for her laughter to die down, looking annoyed with her. Finally, she said, "You misunderstood."

By this time, the rest of the class had lost interest and looked away, but Alfred's eyes stared intensely into her own.

"...That's what was so funny?"

Kiku giggled again and wiped her eyes. "Believe it or not."

"Then what did he...?"

"Advice," she replied, nonchalant.

"About?"

"Girls," Kiku replied casually, spraying down another desk. "He has a crush on Gilbert's cousin Julia and needed advice on how to make her like him."

Alfred choked. "For real?"

She nodded, "Yes, I find it funny that the two are alike, Gilbert-san and Julia-san."

"They are?!"

"Apparently." She shrugged.

Alfred looked at her for a moment. "You're a lot more laid back now, you know?"

_Probably because of Alfred-san..._ she thought to herself, smiling.

"Am I?" She pretended to be clueless.

"Yeah, you are."

"How so?"

The question threw Alfred off-balance. "Well...you don't flinch when people touch you any more, you smile more, uh..."

"I see."

They were silent for a few more minutes, until Alfred spoke again, "Hey Kiku, did anything happen today during math?"

"What?!" She was surprised by the sudden topic change.

"Math. I have it second period and it seemed weird in there." Alfred flexed his fingers, forming short, quick fists. "The Zuckerberg guy...he knows we know."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"Yeah, he did. Did he say anything to you?"

"Yes."

"Kiku, can you tell me exactly what he said?"

Kiku cleared her throat nervously. "Ah, he said that if I said anything, I would be going home...you?"

"He pretty much said the same thing... and said I had to stay away from you, but I do what I want, biatch!"

Kiku stared.

"He said that?"

"Yeah, but fuck it, I don't care."

"...Alright." Kiku blushed a bit. "I don't care either."

"Besides, we have _his _secret," Alfred continued.

"Yes, we do." Kiku agreed, before noticing that some needed help with organizing the classroom, "we should go help."

"Okay! Let's go!"

**A/N:**

**Lolo: Well this chapter was full of threats from Zuckerberg, the man who shares a name with the creator of Facebook.**

**Hatsu: He's creepy :D**

**Lolo: Very. So, um, I created a Facebook page. It's under the name ****KokoLolo.**

**Hatsu: We communicate with each other through our pages. It's funny. You guys are missing a party.**

**Lolo: It's true. You will see our discussions and well, us in general. Also, I post funny pictures and give you updates about the panda cub that passed away in D.C. yesterday. Anyways, we are also going to write a...drum roll, please.**

**Hatsu: **_***pounds table like a child***_

**Lolo: A SLENDER FANFICTION. It will be on Hatsu and Lolo, the joint account.**

**Hatsu: FUCKING. SLENDERMAN. Anyway yeah, also, for this fic FEM!PRUSSIA!**

**Lolo: AND I SHIP THEM. Quite frankly, you can ship anything...**

**Hatsu: By them, she means India and Julia, and not…Julia and Slendy… I assume. And considering how often Lolo and I stick the two, India and Prussia, together, it was only a matter of time before we made it a pairing.**

**Lolo: That's right. This is our second Prussia pairing that's been created by us. **_***coughs***_** PruTurk ***_**coughs***_

**Hatsu: Uh ***_**cough***_** Yeah. Anyway, thanks for getting us past 200 reviews, guys! We love you!**

**Lolo: With all of our heart!**

**Hatsu: Thank yooouuuu! See you next chapter!**


	18. Julia Beilschmidt's Hostile Takeover

For someone who seemed so displeased about the arrival of Julia Beilschmidt, Gilbert sure gave it a lot of fanfare. By the end of the week, the entire school knew more-or-less everything about the girl and her on running rivalry with her cousin.

It wasn't until the week after that Julia showed up for real. Kiku had received a text from Gilbert informing her of the arrival one morning as she was on her way to her Math class. She frowned, re-reading the message. Julia was apparently going to be in Zuckerberg's math class.

This should be interesting.

Sure enough, as she walked into the room, an unfamiliar girl with long, platinum-blonde hair was sitting in the seat across from her own. She took her seat at her respective desk and turned to face the girl, "Hello, Julia-san."

Not missing a beat, Julia Beilschmidt turned to her and grinned, greeting her as though they hadn't just met, "Hey Kiku. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you." Kiku smiled a bit, enjoying this exchange. "And you?"

"Ah, pretty good." Julia leaned back in her chair, hands supporting her head. "Ravi's being a dork. It's cute."

Kiku couldn't resist the smile, "When'd you two meet?"

"Since I took a tour. Just saw him this morning." She shrugged.

Kiku was tempted to ask if Julia knew Ravi had a crush on her, but restrained herself. She only nodded and settled into her seat, preparing for the lesson.

"So hey..." Julia glanced around the room, making sure nobody was within earshot, "You're a girl, right?"

Kiku accidentally snapped her pencil in half. "W-What?!" _That was fast!_

The German girl shrugged. "Ravi told me. Little traitor, I know."

Kiku sighed. Of course Ravi would tell her, though how they had managed to get themselves on the topic of Kiku being a girl was unknown to her.

"Hey, I'll keep myself quiet, y'know." Julia noticed the panic that had crossed the Japanese woman's features.

Noticing the skeptical look Kiku gave her, Julia waved her hands frantically. "Why do you look so doubtful?!"

"Well..." Kiku bit her lip, thinking. "You're related to Gilbert."

"...Okay, fair enough. But I'm also related to Ludwig. Come on, you can trust me."

Kiku had no other choice; she gave in, "Alright."

"Okay class!" the two girls jumped as Zuckerberg entered the classroom, locking eye contact with Kiku as soon as he entered. She arranged her face into an emotionless mask and turned away as he headed to the front of the room. Julia blinked, seeing the unusual tension between the teacher and the Japanese girl. She didn't question it immediately, deciding to wait until after class.

Kiku didn't pay attention during the lesson at all, opting instead for counting how many people knew her secret and remembering how they came to discover it. Five, not counting herself. That was a lot; she really needed to watch herself more. Although the fifth one wasn't her fault, _Ravi_ had slipped. When the bell rang, Julia snatched up her bag and had dragged Kiku with her out to the hallways.

"A-Ahh, could you slow down please? Julia-"

The blonde spun around with an eager look in her eye. "Alright, now you get to tell me what your deal is."

"My...deal?" Kiku was sure she looked utterly confused, and Julia slapped her forehead.

"Okay I know we've known each other for like not even an hour, but I don't care. Spill it." She was getting agitated, and her German accent seemed to get thicker.

"I... can this wait for later?" Kiku hesitated; she wasn't sure this was the appropriate time to explain to her about Zuckerberg. She wasn't even sure if she could fully trust Julia yet either.

The other girl sighed. "Okay, fine. But don't think you're getting out of this!" With that, she spun on her heel and strode down the hallway. Julia was definitely related to Gilbert, no doubt about it.

Kiku turned to go to her next class where she would have to deal with another Beilschmidt. That family seemed to be taking over her life now.

When she got to psychology, Gilbert was already in his seat, arms crossed, sulking. She took her seat and glanced over at the German, "Hello."

"Hey," he replied curtly.

There was a long pause before he spoke again, "You meet Julia?"

"Yes, I did," Kiku answered calmly, amused by his attitude.

"She's annoying, right?"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Hm. Fine."

She sighed inwardly. "Why are you so upset? You said yourself that you beat her at everything."

"Because she's here! And Ravi likes her." He wrinkled his nose, "she's my cousin and that's gross."

"It's not like you're related to him," Kiku pointed out, "so I fail to see the real problem. Are you sure you're not just jealous that your best friend is paying more attention to her?"

"Me? Jealous?" Gilbert scoffed, "I'm too awesome to be jealous."

Kiku rolled her eyes, "Right."

"I'm serious!"

"As am I."

"I'm not jealous!" he grumbled to himself, "I'm awesomer than her."

"..."

Psychology passed in silence for the two after that, and Kiku was relieved to be released to World History. Alfred would be there, at least. She hurried out of the classroom and went down the hallways, searching for the self-proclaimed hero. Kiku enjoyed their conversations before class began and felt it necessary to find him. After looking for a few minutes, she figured she'd see him in class anyway and hurried off there. To her surprise, Alfred had beaten her to their seats and was already staring at the clock looking bored.

"Hello, Alfred-san," she greeted taking her respective seat.

"Hey Kiku, what's up?"

"Not much. How is your day going?"

"Awesome." He grinned, giving her the thumbs up. "Hey, you meet that Julia chick yet? That girl's freaking crazy!"

Kiku couldn't resist rolling her eyes, "Yes, I have." She grimaced, "in math."

"How was she?" Alfred had lowered his voice, concerned.

"She was alright." Kiku shrugged. "You have met her?"

"Yep, in study hall."

"Was she loud?"

"Loud would be an understatement."

Kiku nodded in agreement. "Yes..."

"According to Gilbert, she's also in our gym class. That should be fun."

She glanced sharply over, "Really?"

"Yeah, that's going to be a blast, actually."

Well, they would just have to see about that.

**xXx**

After English and lunch, Alfred and Kiku went down to the locker rooms, changed, and headed up to the softball pitch where the rest of the class was assembling. Julia was off to the side of the larger crowds, talking to Hungary, metal bat in hand. Kiku watched as she continually swung the bat, practicing her swings. It was like she had predicted; the two girls seemed to have become fast friends.

"Hey Kiku!" Julia waved over at the Japanese woman.

Kiku glanced over at Alfred, who had an oh-god look on his face. "I'll be right back, alright?"

"Yeah dude...go for it..."

With a sigh, she went over to join the two girls, "Hello..."

"You two already met, huh?" Elizabeta noted.

Kiku nodded.

"Yep, we did," Julia answered, slinging an arm over Kiku's shoulders. "Kiku's a pretty chill guy." she added with a smirk, "We're pretty good friends already."

"Yes." Kiku ducked out from underneath the German's arm, uncomfortable.

The teacher blew his whistle then, calling the class into session. They split into two teams and began their game for that day. When it was time for Julia's team to line up, the woman sprinted to the front of the line, wanting to be first. She snatched her bat and positioned herself, her focus entirely on the ball and nothing else. The pitcher, Lien, threw the ball and before anyone could realize what happened, Julia was racing to reach the first base.

It continued like that the entire period, and in the end, Julia actually managed to beat Gilbert's team, a feat made even more impressive by the fact she had also gone up against Alfred. Gilbert looked beyond furious as Julia made her way over to her cousin and gloated over his loss.

"How was that? And you said you were doing to win."

"Du...Ich mag du nicht."

Julia scowled humorously. "That's not nice at all."

Lopez clapped his hands, calling for the class' attention. "Kids, I have a call in the office I need to take. There's still a bit of time left so just play a bit more until the bell rings."

"Rematch!" Gilbert shouted, "we play until the bell rings he says!"

His cousin rolled her shoulders back in anticipation. "Bring it!"

Kiku, and the rest of the class, should have foreseen the loud, familiar voice letting out an irritating moan.

"Ugh, count me out," Alyssa scoffed, crossing her arms. Her friends mimicked the action. "I don't want to do any more of this shit that I have to."

Julia raised an eyebrow. "If you keep sitting out, you'll get even fatter, fraulein."

"What?!" Alyssa shrieked, shooting daggers at the German. "You think you're so pretty waltzing into this school like you own the place!"

Julia's eyes widened in mock surprise. "You mean I don't own it? And here I thought this big party was just for me."

Snickers came from the crowd and Alyssa gaped at the German, who was approved of the attention.

"You bitch!" Alyssa snapped.

Not changing her expression at all, Julia whipped out her arm and slapped Alyssa across the face.

The blonde girl didn't even have time to look furious before Julia grabbed her by the collar and pulled her forward.

"Listen, princess," she hissed darkly, "I'm not going to take any of your shit like this, got it? Back the fuck off and don't let me catch you at it. I hate spoiled little morons like you, who think they can get away with anything."

Everyone and everything seemed to fall silent; everyone was in shock. Alyssa herself couldn't manage to retort anything in reply, just staring wide-eyed at the albino girl.

The bell shattered the silence, and Julia released Alyssa, shoving her roughly to the side. Immediately, the few of Alyssa's 'friends' in the class surrounded her, asking the girl if she was alright. She was still in shock, and dumbly walked off this them.

Alfred caught Kiku's eye and grinned. "Actually, you know what? I think I like her."

**A/N:**

**Shorter chapter than usual, but Miss Beilschmidt more than made up for that, I think. Also Lolo's not online right now, so just le Hatsu for the AN.**

**JULIA EXISTS SOLELY TO PUNCH BITCHES IN THE FACE.**

**JULIA TAKES NOBODY'S SHIT.**

**FUCK YEAH.**

***cough* Thanks for reading and please review!**


	19. Parental Units Announcement

Julia Beilschmidt certainly made her presence known the rest of the week. By the time the weekend rolled around, nearly everyone had met or heard of the girl in some way, shape, or form. Some of it was less than positive, as Alyssa had spread some nasty rumors, but Julia let nothing bother her and even Gilbert and Ludwig took part in dispelling the lies. Ravi managed to hang around with the loud woman. He had yet to admit his feelings or even ask her out on a date yet. Gilbert disapproved of Ravi's crush on his cousin.

On Friday, during the morning announcements, Kiku sat with Alfred in their third-period class and was surprised to actually hear something of substance coming from the intercom.

"...Parent visitation will take place next weekend, as you all know, so we will all have to make sure the campus is looking its best..."

Kiku blinked, glancing over at Alfred who was finishing up last minute homework. He looked up as the announcement continued, spilling out more information about the event.

"Oh," he said mildly. "That's next week, huh?"

"I didn't know there was a parent visitation," Kiku replied. "I suppose it makes sense to have one."

"Yeah, I guess." Alfred shrugged. "It's a pretty big deal, actually. The admins flip their shit if there's even an empty soda bottle lying around on campus."

"Why is that?"

"Dunno. It's probably because most of our parents are rich and famous and the school doesn't want to risk losing any funding."

Kiku stared. That was surprisingly insightful. "I see."

"Yeah."

"Er, do legal guardians count?"

"I'm pretty sure they do...I mean..." Alfred paused, thinking more on the question, "I don't see why not."

Kiku paled. What would Mai do if she came? On the other hand, she wouldn't have the money for a flight over there for two days. Plus she had a child to take care of! It was logical to assume that the woman wouldn't be making the trip. Kiku shrugged off the idea and instead tuned back in to what Alfred was saying.

"Excuse me, what was that?"

"I said we get next Thursday and Friday off for our parents," he answered. "My parents usually come on Friday."

_Alfred's parents!_ Kiku thought to herself. She had been curious about them. Alfred had mentioned them before, even going slightly in-depth.

"Hey! Kiku, you'll get to meet them."

"Will I?"

"Yep!" He flashed a thumb up. "I'm warning you now though, they're super boring."

Kiku smiled, "I'm sure they're not, Alfred-san."

"No, really, they are; trust me."

He sighed. "All they do is talk on their phones and junk. Honestly, parent weekend is just like any other weekend for all the effort they put into it." Alfred recovered quickly, smiling at the Japanese girl. "Not a big deal, though. I've got you here this year!"

She shyly smiled over at the American before concern replaced it, "Alfred-san, they don't know we're together, right?"

"Well..." he drawled," I miiight've told them we were dating and stuff."

Kiku spluttered. "R-Really?!"

"Uh...yeah."

"...How did they take that?"

"They don't know that you're actually a guy," he replied, nonchalantly.

She stared, horrified, "So that means...?"

"Yep. They assume I'm dating a girl. I mean, they don't know I'm dating a girl who's crossdressing as a guy...so...they don't know you're a guy?" Alfred trailed off, looking confused.

Kiku groaned and dropped her head into her hands. Meeting his parents would be humiliating!

"Um, Kiku?" She felt him poke her arm. "You okay?"

"Am I okay...hm..."

Alfred snorted and reclined back. "Dude, it'll be fine. Trust me."

Kiku sighed. Of course, it'll be okay! She bit her lip; she was just worried about making a good first impression. She gave a nod of her head, "Right."

As long as neither of them did anything stupid, everything would be okay.

Nothing stupid.

Her head plunked onto her desk. She was dating Alfred Jones. She was doomed.

**xXx**

Later after school, Kiku had hurried to meet Yao and Lien out at his father's restaurant. She wanted to talk to them about her current situation with Alfred and parent visitation. Yao, if possible, looked even more upset about the visitation than her. When Kiku asked what was wrong, he said, "My parents are coming, aru!"

Kiku blinked. "Isn't that the point?"

"Yes, but them coming is going to be awful!"

Kiku glanced over at Lien for further explanation.

"They don't understand him at all," she said flatly.

"Ah."

"It's true!" Yao continued, glowering.

Kiku believed him, looking back at their previous conversations on his parents. "I'm sure it will be fine," she reassured, nonetheless. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"They get in an argument with the janitor about how he should clean the floor." Yao deadpanned.

"What?!"

"It happened last year, aru!"

"He's not kidding," Lien chipped in.

Kiku stared incredulously.

"Yes, not kidding, aru." Yao sighed. "They're complete totalitarian perfectionists. So I keep my hair long to piss them off, aru."

"I see..." Kiku replied, awkwardly. She hadn't imagined Yao's parents to be that way. She had sort of imagined them to be...just like him.

"Yeah..." Yao scratched his arm, "so you're meeting Mister and Misses Jones?"

Kiku shuddered involuntarily, and the other two looked at her sympathetically. "I suppose so, though I am certainly not looking forward to it."

"Do they know about you and Alfred?" Lien asked.

Kiku frowned, "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"They think I'm a girl."

"You are a girl though," Yao replied cluelessly. Then, as Kiku and Lien each gave him a look, what he'd said hit him and his face visibly reddened. "Oh." He coughed, "So... what are you going to do?"

Kiku shrugged, "Go as I am."

"Is that a good idea?" Lien asked.

"What choice do I have? Dress as a girl?" The other girl let out a humorless laugh.

"You could, aru," Yao shrugged.

Kiku shook her head, "No."

Lien rolled her eyes at Yao. "The stress of your parents is getting to your head too much. Eat your food and think things through."

Yao grimaced but obliged, taking a bite of his noodles in front of him. Lien returned her attention to Kiku. "And you," she said sharply, "also need to stop stressing over everything. It's a bad habit of yours."

Kiku gave a vigorous nod, "I-I apologize."

"No apologizing either," the Vietnamese girl scolded. Kiku nodded again with a small smile.

"Good."

Yao glanced up from his food, deciding to change the topic, "Did you hear about Yong Soo and Michelle?"

"Hm?" Kiku and Lien gave him their attention.

"Who is Michelle?" Kiku asked. Yao shrugged.

"I don't know much about her, aru, but she and Yong Soo have been spending a lot of time together. According to Yong Soo he asked her out and she said yes."

Lien nodded slowly. "I can see that happening. They don't have much in common though, don't you think?"

"They share the same amount of energy," Yao replied sagely.

"That's interesting," Kiku commented. She asked, wondering she had seen the girl around school, "what does she look like?"

"Hmm," Yao hummed, "she speaks a bit of French, has a tan, brown hair tied into pigtails."

_Ohhh. _"I think I've seen her around," she replied mildly. "Never with Yong Soo, though."

"Ah, well," Yao sighed. "He is known for doing things on a whim, aru. I don't know how his family manages him."

Kiku took a sip of her tea, shrugging in reply.

**A/N:**

**Hatsu: Chapter is short on account of we've been busy. Not our fault. Though we do have to thank Thoytsi for posting on the wall of my Facebook page being all, "Hey, you guys should update!"**

**Lolo: Yes, yes we do. Thank youuuuuu, Thoytsiii!**

**Hatsu: Thoytsi is just really awesome in general. Her writing, her Britishness, everything. Everyone should go check out her stories because I said so.**

**Lolo: Go do it. Now.**

**Hatsu: Seriously though, sorry for the lateness and for the shortness. It probably won't happen again. This chapter is just filler anyway.**

**Lolo: It's true. We were being busy and lazy and y'know high school.**

**Hatsu: Gettin' real tired of your shit, high school. *cough* Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows, guys!**

**Lolo: We appreciate each and every one of you guys!**

**Hatsu: Yes we do! Off note: Michelle is Seychelles. Lolo and I have started shipping Koreachelles pretty hard.**

**Lolo: Hatsu kinda invented it.**

**Hatsu: Yeah, I kinda did :D Well, we won't take up any more of your time. Thank you for reading and please review!**

**Lolo: Bye!**

**Wait. Before any of you leave. Google Mitt Romney Gangnam Style. Kay, bye.**


	20. Notice

**Hello, **

**I'm sorry to say that this is a dicontinuation/hiatus notice. I say discontinuation/hiatus because I honestly don't know which it is. Lolo and I have lost contact more and more as time's gone by, and I'm a bit unwilling to continue this story without her. I don't know if she's lost wifi or what, but she hasn't updated any stories of hers in months and we haven't talked on the phone in forever and it doesn't appear she's been online anywhere in quite a while, not that I've seen.. It's sad because she was a really good friend, but that's how it is sometimes, I guess. Anyway, I'm really busy with a bunch of stories for Rise of the Guardians, so I don't know if I'll get the chance to update this story very often on my own. **

**I'm really sorry about this. You guys have given Somebody Told Me so much love and attention, it's pretty upsetting to see it end this way. I'll try to continue it in the future, but I honestly doubt it'll happen. This story probably won't see its end. Thank you all so much for the favorites, follows, reviews, and never-ending support. I hope to eventually get back to the Hetalia fandom after my RotG high wears off (if it ever does), so maybe I'll see you all again. **

**-Hatsu**


	21. Just Kidding

The last thing Kiku expected to see when she woke up that morning was Alfred's face staring at her. She let out a yelp as she shoved the American away from her, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Usually he wasn't up until later after all. Kiku eyed him, "What were you doing?"

Alfred shrugged. "Just staring at you, I guess."

"...Why, may I ask?"

He grinned sheepishly. "'Cause you're pretty."

Kiku flushed pink and turned her face away, unsure of how to react to that. She wasn't used to being complimented on her looks that often, and definitely not by someone who seemed to sincerely mean what they said. Alfred was definitely one of the bluntest people she knew.

He was also her boyfriend, she realized with a jolt. She had a boyfriend. Who liked to hug her and call her pretty and watch her sleep (though she did have some problems with that last one). It was...a bizzare feeling, to say the least.

"T-Thank you," she stammered with an awkward cough, pulling herself out of bed.

"You're welcome!" Alfred smiled broadly, crossing his arms. He followed her into the bathroom, "So guess what?"

Kiku reached for her toothbrush, running it under the tap water, "What?"

"Dude, you have to guess first."

"You..." she paused, thinking of potential possiblities. Immediately her mind went to the event that was being held that weekend. "Your...parents?"

"Yeah! They're literally on the plane right now!"

Kiku had to fight to keep her hands from trembling. It was Thursday morning, the day when everyone's parents would start pouring in for visitation. Kiku, while not expecting anyone to come for her, was honestly quite terrified. She was a naturally shy person, and it probably didn't help that she was dating the most outgoing person on campus. The only description Alfred had given her of his parents was that they were very busy the majority of the time. There was nothing about their personalities hidden in there somewhere, and that was what made Kiku nervous.

What would they be like? Stern, aloof, or energetic like their son? In their eyes, Kiku was a boy, so what about that? Would they accept her or shun her completely when they found out about Alfred's "boyfriend"? Or maybe Alfred would tell them the truth about her, which almost seemed worse than the alternative. Way too many people knew Kiku's secret already.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She was probably overthinking things; she did tend to do that a lot. There was no point in worrying when she didn't even know the Jones' first names.

She slowly set the toothbrush down, "When.." -she swallowed- "will they be here?"

Alfred blinked, "Um... later today. Are you alright?"

Kiku protested to this, "Yes, I am." She couldn't resist a heavy sigh. "Well... sort of."

"Sort of?" Alfred's bright mood slowly deflated, "Does Alyssa have anything to do with that?"

"Not particularly, now that you mention it. Why?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. But I don't really think you have anything to worry about. My parents are pretty cool, I think."

"You think?"

"Yeah, well..." Alfred shifted uncomfortably, "They're not really around much for me to know for certain."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Not big deal." He gave Kiku a one-armed hug. "C'mon, finish getting ready and then we can go get food."

Seeing his smile, Kiku put on one as well, "Alright, can you please leave the bathroom."

"Oh.. right! I'll be out here!"

Alfred awkwardly shuffled out before Kiku shut the bathroom door. He threw himself on his bed, grabbing one of his crumpled comic books to read while waiting. It didn't take her very long to shower and get dressed, and soon the two were walking down to the main building, where the cafeteria was located. The large, open room was already packed with students and adults, to Kiku's mild surprise. So many parents had come early.

"Hey, the Beilschmidts are here!" Alfred whuspered to her.

"What?" Kiku's eyes skimmed the cafteria, "Where?"

"Over there."

He pointed, and she followed his gaze over to a crowded table. It was so rowdy, Kiku was surprised she hadn't noticed it first thing. Ludwig and Gilbert's parents, who looked just as serious as the muscular blonde, were seated next to a far more relaxed couple who could only be taken for Julia's parents. They were the only ones at the table who didn't look angry or extremely uncomfortable. It seemed that Julia and Gilbert were taking part in a furious pancake-eating contest. Matthew Williams stood nearby, watching them with a completely bewildered and mortified look.

"I think Mattie's just peeved they're hogging all the maple syrup," Alfred snorted, shaking his head at the expression on his cousin's face. "He and Gil have this weird pancake connection and they're like best friends, it makes no sense to me."

"I thought Ravi was Gilbert's best friend?" Kiku replied inquiringly.

"I think it depends on Gil's mood, to be honest. He has a lot of best friends." Alfred rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "I guess my aunt and uncle aren't here yet, or Mattie would be with them. Oh, check it out, there's the Kirklands. The Wangs are with them, too. Arthur and Yao's families are friends or something."

"Kiku!"

She glanced over to see Mei waving to her from across the room with the rest of the Asians except for Yao. Their families must not be there yet... She waved back at them before turning back to Alfred to tell him where she was heading to see his nose in his phone texting.

"Alfred-san, I am-"

"My parents just got off the plane, dude!"

Her stomach plummeted. "I...ah. Alright. When will they be here?"

"About twenty minutes, they say. They got a driver and everything."

She forced on a smile, "Really?"

"Yup!" Alfred beamed.

Kiku cleared her throat, searching for Mei and the others amongst the sea of people. Thankfully Mei, being an energetic girl, was still waving.

"I'm going to go... talk with them," she said stiffly.

"Okay. I'll meet my parents when they get here and we'll catch up later."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and silently made her way through the crowds over to where her friends were seated. She promptly pulled up a chair next to Lien who watching her carefully, "What's up?"

Kiku sighed, "Alfred's parents."

Lien nodded. "Mine aren't here yet. I'm spending time with Yao and Hong right now." She gestured to the family politely, who were waiting for the two to finish their conversation.

"When will your parents be here?" she asked.

"Tonight." Lien shrugged nonchalantly.

Yao coughed. "Kiku, these are my parents, aru." He and Hong both looked uncomfortable, as did Mei. Mei's parents looked somewhat out of it, as if they would rather be anywhere but there. Kiku could relate.

Yao's parents, on the other hand, were a different story entirely.

Kiku stuck out her hand, "Hello."

Yao's mother's eyes darted from Kiku's face to her hand, bluntly asking, "Are you a girl or a boy, aru?"

The Japanese girl blushed and stuttered for a moment. "I-I am a boy."

Her face softened almost immediately and she smiled, taking Kiku's hand and giving it a firm shake. "Yao's told us all about you."

Yao had talked about Kiku a lot, in fact, it was to the point that he sometimes forgot to refer to her as a boy when talking about her. Yao, for his part, flushed bright red at the reminder of his negligence. Kiku kept her face expressionless and replied, "I hope he hasn't said anything unflattering."

"No, no, not at all." his father spoke up, "It's nice to meet another of Yao's friends..." He trailed off, now unsure what to say.

His parents weren't so bad. Why did Yao make such a big fuss over them coming? She thought about their past conversations about his family, and realized that just because they were civil to her didn't mean they were to him and Hong. She wanted to say something about that to her friend, but knew it would be very rude to do so in front of his family. She would have to wait until they were alone, though she hated seeing the uncomfortable and distressed look on Yao's face.

She felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket and excused herself from the table, grateful for the excuse to leave the chaotic cafeteria, and waited until she was outside the building before answering.

Expecting the call to be from Alfred and his parents, Kiku flipped the phone open and said, "Alfred? I'm just outside the main building, if you want me to-"

"Kiku-chan?" a familiar voice interrupted, speaking rapid Japanese, and Kiku felt her blood run cold. _Oh no._

"W-who is this?" she asked, though she was certain she already knew the answer.

"Mai Sato. Don't you know my voice? Anyway, I heard it was a parent visitation week, so I came to surprise you!" Mai said cheerily. "Where are you? I'm on the campus already, I dropped my son off at a daycare, he came with me. Megumi wanted to see you, but... Kiku-chan?"

Kiku didn't answer. She was too busy digesting the fact that the last person she wanted to see was there at the academy.

* * *

**A/N:**

** We lied, we lied! That notice was an April Fool's joke. Once you guys started to review about it, Lolo and I began to feel really guilty and just...gah. We're so sorry. We thought it would be funny because we're terrible people. Lolo and I are still very close friends and talk every day. The only reason she's not here for this A/N is because she's on a short trip to Seattle at the moment, so it's just me. Also pardon the sucky ending to this chapter. Just me for that bit, too.**

** Sorry. We're sorry. This story isn't over, it's still going. Please stay with us. **

** -Hatsu**


	22. Kiku's In a Pickle and Julia's No Help

"Kiku-chan?" Mai asked after a beat of silence when Kiku didn't respond. Kiku realized she had to say something that could divert Mai from walking any further onto the campus. She racked her brain for excuses that didn't seem too obvious for Mai to catch on to her intentions. Kiku cleared her dry throat, "I... I am simply surprised that you came, Sato-san. It means alot to me, however it wasn't... necessary."

"I am technically your guardian, you know!" Mai laughed, sounding seemingly relieved to Kiku. "Now where are you, Kiku-chan? I have a map so-"

Kiku quickly cut her off, "I have a better idea actually." she paused, thinking her plan through, "we should meet at the nearest coffee shop in... an hour, because..."

Mai's frown was obvious from her tone, "Why can't I see you now?"

"I'm... very busy, yes." she lowered her voice as if she were ready to tell a secret, "you see, I have... an appointment." This couldn't be considered lying. She was expected to meet with Alfred's parents, right? And she can give herself enough time to change into a girl's uniform that she can borrow from Lien.

"An... appointment?" Mai repeated, puzzled.

"Yes."

There was yet another uncomfortable silence, and Kiku wondered if Mai was trying to come up with notions that could apply to what she could possibly mean by the term 'appointment.' Before Kiku could add to the conversation, Mai spoke, suddenly more upbeat than before, "You mean... a date? With a person?"

Kiku swallowed, her cheeks flushing; she debated in that instance whether to tell her or not. "Er... no. He wants me to meet his parents."

"It's a boy!" Mai exclaimed, beaming. There was a clear sense of pride that Kiku had found someone.

"N-no..!"

"A girl then!" Mai still had her cheerful attitude up.

"Sato-san, it's a boy, but..." Kiku felt her heart pounding against her chest. She felt as if it were to jump out anytime now. She let out a sigh. "I'll tell you later, but can we please meet up later? I promise, I'll show you around... it's just-"

"Hey Kiks!"

Kiku immediately felt her body stiffen, recognizing the female German's loud voice. Thankfully, it at least wasn't Gilbert, but Julia popping up was not entirely convenient either. Kiku whipped around to face Kiku, wildly gesturing to the cell phone held up to her ear so that Julia understood. The albino smirked, 'zipping' her lips using her finger. Kiku mouthed a 'thank you' then tuned back in to hear Mai inquiring on who was there with her. "That's my friend, Julia. She was just saying hello, but as I was saying, I'm busy..." her excuse was terrible and she could tell Mai seemed to be at least a bit suspicious.

"But..."

"Go look around the town!" Kiku suggested, eager to end the conversation. Maybe she should play the boyfriend card. If that's what Mai's going to assume anyways, she might as well...

Mai finally gave in, "Alright, but Kiku, please call me when your... appointment is over."

"Right, I will, Sato-san." And with their exchange of goodbyes, the conversation ended. Kiku clapped the phone shut with a heavy sigh.

Julia arched an eyebrow at her as she casually 'unzipped' her mouth, "Sounds like you're in a tight spot, huh?"

Kiku soundlessly nodded rather wanting to know what Julia wanted so that she can be left alone. Too many Beilschmidts can just be overbearing, and Julia was a handful at times all on her own.

"Look, I don't know what happened, but if you need my help, I'm here." Julia shrugged, completely nonchalant.

Kiku blinked, taking this new offer into consideration. She can certainly use this to her advantage. She calmly stated, "I don't think you want to get tangled up in this mess."

"Hon, I think I've been involved ever since I figured out you aren't actually a dude." Julia's expression turned mischievous, "Besides, I'm kind of bored right now. Parents are busy talking, y'know? What else have I got to do?"

And in that moment, an idea came to Kiku, and an uncharacteristically mischievous smile crossed her face. "Julia, there is something you can do."

The German girl grinned and flipped her long white hair over her shoulder. "Excellent. I don't even care what it is, lay it on me."

"Alright, what I want you to do is, find Mai Sato."

"Of course, of course... except I don't know what she looks like. Like...wait back up, who the fuck is Mai Sato? Because if you're suggesting murder and I don't know who I'm murdering, this can be a serious problem."

Kiku gave Julia an incredulous stare.

"Relax, I'm kidding! But seriously, who the fuck is she?"

"She's my landlady, she's kind of like my guardian." Kiku replied.

"Uh-huh... and why am I supposed to find her?"

Kiku gave Julia a brief synopsis of the whole "Mai doesn't know I'm crossdressing" shebang, after which the other girl started laughing impossibly hard.

"S-so..." she snorted, catching her breath, "how did you even get away with running off to this school dressed as a guy? Didn't she notice?"

"No. I was careful."

"Right. So you're saying you want me to keep her away from you as long as possible while you meet Al's parents and possibly think of a cover story for why you're in reverse drag and roommates with your boyfriend?"

Kiku heaved a sigh. "Yes, if you want to put it in Layman's terms. I suppose so."

"Okay, cool. This should be fun, actually. I haven't gotten the chance to actually look around the city yet." Julia did seem to look excited for this opportunity, even if it was with the landlady. "Hey, can I bring Ravi since he knows the city by now?"

"Sure, bring whoever you'd like." Kiku could care less, as long as Mai's out of the way. Besides, Julia getting lost alone with Mai sounded like a was a polite, honestly rather innocent woman and Julia was...well, Julia. Ravi would be a good influence on the two of them. "I think Sato-san is somewhere on campus."

"Right, so...what do I do?"

Kiku's phone buzzed in her pocket again and she didn't need to check it to know it was a certain blonde American in need of her presence. "Get Ravi, and go find the only other Japanese person on campus. I'll see you later."

As Kiku dashed off, Julia really couldn't help but smile and think of how much the girl had changed. She used to be a stammering mess, and now here she was bossing around Germans. Fantastic.

* * *

To say Ravi was in shock when Julia kicked open the classroom door just to kidnap him was an understatement. This wasn't what he wanted his parents to see either. Actually, nobody wanted their parents to see this sort of behavior coming from the girl that you'd rather have them approve, but as usual, Julia had to make her presence known. "Yo, Ravi! We're ditching this place and hitting the city!"

"What?" Ravi said, flatly.

"The city, dude. We've been sent on a secret mission by none other than Kiku Honda himself!"

"...I'm very confused right now." Ravi admitted, feeling somewhat embarrassed. In his defense, though, nobody would know what the fuck is going on if an albino German busted into the room, screaming about missions. He glanced nervously at his dumbstruck parents, "Uh..." he gestured weakly to Julia, "this is, my, uh...girlfriend?"

Julia barely glanced at them. "Hello, nice to meet you, I need to borrow your spawn for a moment. Or several." She grabbed Ravi's elbow and began hauling him towards the door. When she slammed the door shut behind them, Ravi began demanding to know what was going on. Julia quickly explained the situation, concluding her explanation with, "And now we need to find the one Japanese lady that's no Kiku on campus."

"But was kicking open the door really necessary?"

"Yes. Let me feel like a secret agent for one day, Ravs."

"You just loudly kidnapped me in front of my parents, you need to work on stealth and presentation."

"You belong in Bollywood. Come on, let's just go."

Ravi just sighed. He hadn't been dating Julia for long, but he knew when it was best to just not argue. It took Julia some time for her to finally let go of his elbow. For whatever reason, she deemed it best to hold onto him so that he wouldn't run away. Of course, Ravi never thought of it, but Julia has had people run away on her in the past and she was not taking any chances. It didn't take too long to find Mai Sato. She was found seated on a bench out in the front of the school, looking at a town map, trying to decipher it.

"Score!" Julia fist pumped before grabbing Ravi's hand, "Come on!"

"Wait, how do we know it's her?" Ravi blinked in confusion, and Julia rolled her crimson eyes to the sky.

"Asian, middle-aged, is on campus. Come on, what do you think?"

"Why don't we just...y'know, ask her?"

"What, her name?"

"Yes, that is generally the idea."

Julia scowled. "I take back what I said about Bollywood. You're not good at this agent thing at all."

Ravi sighed. "Kiku just asked us-you, actually-to keep her landlady entertained. It's not exactly a high-class military assignment, you're just being dramatic."

"Me? Dramatic? Never." she replied, sarcastically, before snapping, "This is serious business! Do you understand what could happen to Kiku if Mai is to find out shit?"

"I understand, but seriously, you belong in a theater class with how into this you're getting." Ravi protested, crossing his arms.

"Ravi, I can do this by myself, you know." she threatened, glaring in his direction.

"Go right ahead!" He spread his arms in a sarcastic gesture. "You go take a Japanese lady to Starbucks or something and I can go spend time with my parents."

"No. Not allowed." Julia grabbed his hand and gave him a pleading look. "Come on, pleeeaaase? I'll have more fun if you're here!"

And just like that, the Indian boy felt himself melting like butter on warm bread. "Damn it..."

"Yes!" Julia jumped and punched the air. "Let's do this!"

"But can we do this in a normal way rather than kidnapping?"

"Fine, whatever." Julia agreed to Ravi's surprise. They approached the Japanese woman who was still mostly focused on the map in her lap. Ravi took a seat next to her on the bench while Julia rested an elbow on the armrest. The two teens exchanged a look, silently asking who was going to start. Julia rolled her eyes again once more and cleared her throat.

"Uh, excuse me..."

Mai yelped and jumped violently, startled. Clutching a hand to her heart she stammered out through a thick Japanese accent. "Y-Yes? May I help you?"

"Are you Mai Sato?"

The woman frowned. "I...am. Who are you?"

"Your wor-"

"worried friends of Kiku's." Ravi interrupted Julia before she could finish her 'Your worst nightmare' joke. It was clear that Mai wasn't the kind of woman who would take it lightly. Especially since they had randomly sat next to her.

"Has something happened to Kiku-chan?!" Mai's eyes widened, her voice frantic.

"No, no!" Ravi assured hastily, quickly adding, "Kiku's busy and she wants us to show you around the town until she's done."

Immediate relief crossed Mai's expression, but she couldn't help, but remain skeptical, "But Kiku-chan said we'd meet up soon.."

"Right. We'll be back before Kiku's done so you don't need t'worry about that." Julia, expecting this sort of response, had an answer ready.

Mai bit her lip, looking uncertain. "I'll need to pick up my son... I left him at a daycare."

"That's fine, fine!" Julia waved absently, tugging at the woman's elbow. "Let's get moving!"

Ravi was on Mai's other side, keeping a polite tone, he asked, "Which daycare did you drop your son off at?"

"Ah...Sunnyside, I think it was. It was cheap and nearby, so..."

"I heard that place is a war zone," Julia said cheerily, dragging the poor Mai down the sidewalk with Ravi trailing behind. "It's okay though, we're gonna get him. What's your kid's name?"

"I-It's...Megumi...what did you mean just now?"

"Don't listen to a word she says," Ravi whispered to Mai. "She's nuts."

Mai looked terrified. Ravi could certainly sympathize.

* * *

After picking up Megumi from Sunnyside Daycare, they started their way towards the nearest Starbucks, for Julia claimed she had never had American coffee just yet and wanted to try some. On their way over, Megumi was telling Mai about how he could've sworn that he saw one of the toys move, "It was this pink bear. He looked freaked out when I saw him and then he plopped over."

Julia looked over to Ravi, "Do you understand a word that kid's saying?"

He sighed. "It's in Japanese, Jules. Of course I don't understand it."

"You learned German, some. I thought you'd know 'cause you're some kind of linguist."

"No I'm not. I only learned it to understand what you yell at me half the time. That was a bad idea, by the way, I'm regretting it now."

"That's good," Julia replied in a sing-song voice. "_Du bist eine wenig Scheiss_e."

"I understood that."

"I know~"

"Why do I date you?"

She smirked. "You tell me."

Ravi rolled his eyes, a slow smile playing at his lips before turning his attention towards Mai who was still talking to her son, "What is he saying?"

Mai glanced over at him, "What?"

"After we picked him up...?"

"Well..." Mai hesitated, clearly not believing her son. "He said one of the toys-"

"Moved and talked, right?" Julia interrupted, her resource for this from rumors spread around. "Also, the kids there are maniacs, don't know how to share their toys. Probably why spirits possessed the toys and shit."

Ravi sent Julia a look, "Stop."

"What?"

"You know what."

"I don't, actually."

"Doesn't surprise me."

"May we stop and get some aspirin?" Mai interrupted flatly. "I'd like to get back to the school as soon as possible and meet Kiku-chan."

"Slow down for a second, we at least need to go to Starbucks." Julia announced, making it clear that she wasn't going to do anything else that day until she got her coffee.

"...but I really would like some aspirin." Mai was on the edge now. Julia was getting on her nerves, fast.

Ravi sighed, pulling Julia aside, muttering an apology to Mai. Julia frowned, "What's everyone's problems today? You're not fun right now like you usually are!"

"Look, do you want her to murder you? She's a nice lady but she's already high-strung enough. Give her a break and stop being such a..."

Julia's eyes narrowed. "Such a what?"

Ravi quailed under her sharp gaze, swallowing whatever he had been about to say and replacing it with, "Just be nice and not annoying. We only have to entertain her for so long until Kiku's done with whatever she's doing, right?"

"Right..."

"You can surely be a decent person for that long."

Julia pouted, "But it's no fun being all polite and quiet, you know that. How do people go through life like that?"

"Not everyone yolos through life..." Ravi pointed out to her.

"Yeah, but I do."

"I think the whole school knows that."

"Right." Julia cracked her knuckles. "Okay, I see what you're saying. I'll try to be nice for a while, but no promises." She flashed a thumbs up at her boyfriend. "For Kiku!"

"Right," he echoed, sighing and running a hand through his dark hair. "For Kiku..."

Back at the academy, Kiku approached the building where Alfred stood with his parents, feeling a deep sense of foreboding. She prayed that Julia was getting on alright with Mai, and vice versa, but honestly didn't have to much hope. But whatever. She had bigger things to worry about, and could feel guilty about whatever lasting damage on her landlady there was later.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lolo: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another chapter of Somebody Told Me which is totally not cancelled, because this is a fun write. Next chapter we shall get in depth on Kiku's meeting with Al's parents. Fun, right?**

**Hatsu: But for this chapter, you get 2000+ words of Julia and Ravi being bitches to each other. It's just a filler, really, we have no idea where the fuck this came from.**

**Lolo: Nope, none at all. itwasn'tmeoranything**

**Hatsu: Yes, Lolo totally didn't just start this chapter without me. I was in Yellowstone though so it's okay. Also, fun fact: When we were writing this in Google Docs, we started fooling around and writing shippy little paragraphs with Prussia/Japan just right in the middle of the story and now we both ship it. Whoops.**

**Lolo: Google DRIVE, but yeah, we ship them now. I ship almost anything. Actually not really, but I ship too many pairings in this fandom.**

**Hatsu: Prussia is a sex god among men. Anyway, yay us for not taking six months with this chapter. Woot woot.**

**Lolo: I suggested writing it.**

**Hatsu: Lolo is a god among men as well.**

**Lolo thanks you for your compliment. Lolo suggests wrapping this AN up. Lolo is wondering why she is talking in third person.**

**Hatsu: Well, whatever. Till next time, guys! Thanks for reading and please review!**


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